PORTRAIT OF LENA
This image was the cover of Susan’s
seminal 1976 book, Carnival Strippers...Lena was one of many strippers she
photographed over several years after first
encountering the girls’ shows of the country
fairs touring America’s north east states.
Taken in Vermont, 1973, Lena was standing on
a bally box to draw punters into the show tent
behind her. Recalling the moment, Susan
recently told the BBC: “I had no idea who
she was – just the flaunting of herself was so
striking.” It was one of the first photos from
the project: “I wanted to know more. I ended
up spending three years following the girls’
shows. It’s basically a striptease of three
women to a 45 record. It’s like a pop up show.”
As well as making black and white portraits of
the girls on stage, Susan gained their
confidence to photograph them relaxing
backstage. The work formed the basis for
the portfolio that gained her entry to the
prestigious Magnum photo agency.STORY BEHIND THE SHOT
64 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
THEPROINTERVIEW