Photographer and author KK
Ottesen’s most recent book, Activist: Portraits of Courage
(Chronicle Books, published October 2019, 7 x 9 ¼ in, 300pp, hard-
cover $35), contains the words and portraits of 41 American activists. The pho-
tographs represent activists, ranging in age from 21 to 94, who have been engaged in
a broad range of issues from a variety of perspectives. It's why in this volume, which
presents first-person interviews alongside the black-and-white portraits, you’ll not only
find longtime icons—Harry Belafonte and Angela Davis, for example—but also new
faces, such as Indivisible co-founders Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg.
The project grew out of Ottesen’s longtime interest in activism and the roles peo-
ple play in an active democracy. “In recent years, as the discourse has frayed and
with all the crazy stuff that’s happening, I thought about the importance of the
people who stand up to put things back on course,” she says.
More specifically, she wanted to understand what compels someone to act.
“What kind of individual stands up and makes other people uncomfortable?By^ Theano
Nikitas^ |^Photography^ By^ KK^OttesenA^ new
photo
graph
y^ book
show
cases
activis
ts,^ bot
h^ famo
us^
and^ le
sser^ k
nown,
who^ t
ook^ th
e^ cruc
ial^ ste
p^ to^ ge
t^ invol
ved
digitalphotopro.com January/February 2020 | 27