I photograph people I know. For me, it is the only way to make honest pictures. I have known some of the people in my photographs for years, others I know through common experiences, and a few I know through the collaborative process of picture-taking itself. Being an insider gives me a window not open to a stranger. It also gives me a mirror through which to better understand my own personal experiences.
LANIE MCNULTY's work includes portraiture and several long-term photo-documentary projects. Her portraiture features humorous and intimate images of children and families. Her long-term projects include Lifted Up in New York City, From the Ashes of Rwanda and Picture Perfect.
Since 2004, Lanie has been working on Lifted Up in New York City, images of Christians from all five boroughs of New York City, of every color, culture and class, worshipping in their own unique and intimate ways. Photographs from this project were selected for the Encounter 09 | Art in Action group show, a juried art exhibition by the International Arts Movement. Lifted Up in New York City has been exhibited at Trinity Baptist Church, the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, the All Things Project, the Bronx Borough President’s Art Gallery and the Gallery @ Common Grounds in Pennsylvania.
From the Ashes of Rwanda tells stories of life in the Rwandan villages of Nyamagabe and Mudasomwa a decade after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. In April 2009 a preview of this project was exhibited at the group show “Elephants and Candy” at New Century Artists Gallery in New York City.
Picture Perfect is a work-in-progress documenting the fight to help American children who are living in poverty.
Lanie studied photography at the International Center of Photography. She holds an A.B. in Government from Dartmouth College, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and an M.S. from Bank Street College of Education. She has worked for Time Warner, Bertelsmann and The New York Times Company. Lanie lives in New York City with her husband and three children.
February 2010
