Justine Kurland is an American photographer who is famous for her book of ‘girl pictures’ which includes images of girls in rural landscapes, focusing on the theme of femininity. There is a sense of freedom throughout the images as the teenage girls are seen to be exploring nature with no care in the world, not worrying about judgement that would typically come from males. Kurland’s images were inspired by the after-school TV special. She also channelled her “raw, angry energy of girl bands”, into her photographs she took of teenage girls.

Justine Kurland stated by taking photos of a teenage girl called Alyssum, who was the daughter of a guy she was dating. Some could say that Alyssum was a rebellious child as she was known for skipping school and smoking pot, which is why Kurland decided she would start to take photos of her. They both came up with the idea that Alyssum would be the subject, know as the ‘teenage runaway.’

Kurland then decided to expand her cast, she added some collage freshmen and any teenage girls that genuinely wanted to collaborate with her. The teenage girls were known as the ‘runaways’, they built forts in forests, which can be seen in the images.

In my opinion, Justine Kurland’s work relates to the theme of felinity as her images show teenage girls that have been given freedom. I like how there is a sense of nostalgia and enjoyment through out all the images as the teenage girls are doing activities that some would consider more masculine, for example camping in the woods and getting muddy.

Image Analysis:

This is a digital image taken by Justine Kurland. The mise-en-scene presents Alyssum sitting in a blossom tree between Hudson river and a highway. This image has been taken on a straight on angle, and has a large depth of field using a f-stop of around f/11 or f/16. I know this because all/most of the image is in focus. Kurland has used the rule of thirds, and it can be argued that she has used leading lines to show the audience where the focal point is.