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Holy
Published by powerHouse Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
“Even with blackened eyes, the women in Donna Ferrato’s photographs look defiant, not defeated. A photojournalist and feminist activist who is best known for her documentation of domestic violence, Ferrato, 73, has also depicted women pursuing sexual pleasure, giving birth, raising children, enticing men and demonstrating in the streets. Her subject is women taking control of their bodies, and in her fiercely empathetic mission, sometimes she turns the camera on herself.”
– Arthur Lubow, The New York Times
“Ferrato’s photos have the ability to sear into the recesses of your mind.”
– Kenneth Dickerman, The Washington Post
“Ferrato recognizes photography as a tool to speak truth to power.”
– Miss Rosen, Feature Shoot
“Her haunting photographs display the harsh reality of women facing domestic violence, an often- underrepresented issue, and give an honest, vulnerable approach to the issue”
– Margarita Matta, MUSÉE
“The stirring photographs exhibited in Holy attest to Ferrato’s ongoing philosophy as an image-maker: “My moral imperative is to be there and help people suffering in silence… to respond as a human being, to earn trust, to listen.” As women’s rights feel particularly imperilled and progress has faltered in a way likely to devastate the lives of so many women in the US, Holy is both a restorative act of care and a stirring siren call.”
– Emily Dinsdale, DAZED
Photographer Donna Ferrato goes on a radical 50-year road trip across the USA as women fight for equality in the bedroom and the boardroom. Holy follows her journey from the sexual revolution of the '60s through the #metoo era of today.
Holy is forged from one woman's outrage against a woman-hating world. May it anger you. Donna Ferrato's radical photographs show what women are capable of surviving. More than survive, Holy depicts women who prevail. Holy is an invitation to understand how it feels being held down by the patriarchy-what we are fighting for, what we are up against--and how we manage to maintain a sense of desire and appetite. Fighting for equality in the bedroom and the boardroom, Ferrato's journey follows the sexual revolution of the '60s through the #metoo era of today.
Holy is a showcase of power. Donna's images reveal women's bodies in all their monstrous glory-even her own. May these photographs mobilize you, whether you are cis or trans, young or old, butch or femme. Human survival depends on women. Embrace your instincts, desires, brainpower, and strength. Embrace each other.
– Arthur Lubow, The New York Times
“Ferrato’s photos have the ability to sear into the recesses of your mind.”
– Kenneth Dickerman, The Washington Post
“Ferrato recognizes photography as a tool to speak truth to power.”
– Miss Rosen, Feature Shoot
“Her haunting photographs display the harsh reality of women facing domestic violence, an often- underrepresented issue, and give an honest, vulnerable approach to the issue”
– Margarita Matta, MUSÉE
“The stirring photographs exhibited in Holy attest to Ferrato’s ongoing philosophy as an image-maker: “My moral imperative is to be there and help people suffering in silence… to respond as a human being, to earn trust, to listen.” As women’s rights feel particularly imperilled and progress has faltered in a way likely to devastate the lives of so many women in the US, Holy is both a restorative act of care and a stirring siren call.”
– Emily Dinsdale, DAZED
Photographer Donna Ferrato goes on a radical 50-year road trip across the USA as women fight for equality in the bedroom and the boardroom. Holy follows her journey from the sexual revolution of the '60s through the #metoo era of today.
Holy is forged from one woman's outrage against a woman-hating world. May it anger you. Donna Ferrato's radical photographs show what women are capable of surviving. More than survive, Holy depicts women who prevail. Holy is an invitation to understand how it feels being held down by the patriarchy-what we are fighting for, what we are up against--and how we manage to maintain a sense of desire and appetite. Fighting for equality in the bedroom and the boardroom, Ferrato's journey follows the sexual revolution of the '60s through the #metoo era of today.
Holy is a showcase of power. Donna's images reveal women's bodies in all their monstrous glory-even her own. May these photographs mobilize you, whether you are cis or trans, young or old, butch or femme. Human survival depends on women. Embrace your instincts, desires, brainpower, and strength. Embrace each other.
Product Details
- Publisher: powerHouse Books (April 7, 2021)
- Length: 176 pages
- ISBN13: 9781576879108
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Raves and Reviews
"A deeply personal book, Holy embodies Ferrrato’s fierce, unflinching devotion to uncovering the complicated truth about women’s lives. Her searing images... reveal women’s bodies in all their monstrous glory–even her own. From battered women and activists, to migrant workers and swingers, the stories told through these photographs will mobilize you, whether you are cis or trans, young or old, butch or femme. Human survival depends on women. Holy is Ferrato’s call to action to embrace your instincts, desires, brainpower, and strength."
– GirlTalkHQ
"It is a ferocious, 176-page collection of her most blistering photography, annotated with handwritten notes and blood-red splashes of colour (a visual representation, she says, of a “woman’s heart”). It’s proof that, even at 71, Ferrato is still as radical, spirited and valorous as she’s always been – and a rebel to her bones."
– Dominique Sisley, AnOther
“'That’s the power of photography: to provoke people and show what’s going on.'”
– Guy Lane, The Guardian
"This Winter's Best Coffee Table Books 2020"
– Allison Schaller, Vanity Fair
"...Holy showcases Ferrato’s fierce devotion to uncovering the complicated truth about women’s lives, breaking with the traditional documentary approach and embracing non-objective journalism, where documentation, opinion, and immersion come together to tell her story over five decades."
– Juxtapoz
"Her images, broadly speaking, show women's survival within battles against the patriarchy. They delineate what they're fighting for in those battles – from the boardroom to the bedroom, from the sexual revolution of the '60s to the #metoo era of today."
– Emily Gosling, Creative Boom
"I am here to tell you that Ferrato’s photos have the ability to sear into the recesses of your mind. And by doing so, they give a lasting voice to the stories of the people she has photographed. In short, they are indeed heard."
– Kenneth Dickerman, Washington Post
"The present book brings another surprise to those who doubt the power of women. ... It’s a raw and poetic way to pay tribute to the women [Ferrato] has defended all her life."
– Laurence Cornet, Blind Magazine
"Possessed with an unflinching eye and a compassionate soul, Ferrato use[s] photography to speak truth to power, addressing issues of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, sex work, sexuality, gender identity, healthcare, abortion, childbirth, childcare, family, and community."
– Miss Rosen, Huck Magazine
"Fearlessly confronting once taboo issues like sexual assault, domestic violence, and sex work, Ferrato recognizes photography as a tool to speak truth to power and testify to not only the tragedies and traumas befalling women but the victories that achieve against the odds."
– Miss Rosen, Feature Shoot
"Ferrato’s style is stark, open, guileless. ... There is none of the technicolor seediness of Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, the brooding menace of Larry Clark’s Tulsa or the subtle theatrical feminism evident in Cindy Sherman’s work. Let’s say more Sam Peckinpah than Hitchcock."
– Madhu Joseph-John, PhotoBook Journal
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Holy Hardcover 9781576879108
