48 pages Photographies by Andrea Modica 26,6 x 22 cm Language: English Paperback Publisher: L'Artiere First edition of 1000 copies 2023
"After Garry Winogrand’s memorial service that March, and an unseasonal snowstorm that swept through New York on an otherwise warm spring day, I took the RR subway to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to visit my former high school teacher, artist Len Bellinger. As always, I carried my 8x10 camera and film holders in a backpack, with the tripod slung over one shoulder.
As a diligent student, I used the opportunity to photograph my alma mater—a Catholic girls' high school, largely Italian-American. I was instantly overwhelmed by a mix of recognition and fear. I returned many times over the following months, knowing intuitively that something important was waiting to be uncovered. Just a few years earlier, within those walls, I had lived out my teenage years—a time of immense joy and unfathomable sorrow. That spring day, without hesitation, I stepped off the ledge. I was in love.
This book includes that Brooklyn work, as well as photographs taken during the same period in two Catholic girls’ schools in New Haven. All the images were made with an 8x10 camera and printed in platinum—a process I still use. The influence of photographers whose work I devoured, especially August Sander and Diane Arbus, is clear. The seeds of all my future projects are planted in this book.
With the Catholic girls, I began a lifelong habit of obsessive work—one I might not wish on someone I love. Looking back over these forty years, I don’t think I ever had a real choice. I remain deeply grateful to everyone who supported me through the decades, including the incredible young women who generously gave their time to be photographed in 1984." Andrea Modica
