Donna Ferrato (American, b. 1949) #1 Scenes from a Marriage, Garth and Lisa, 1982 Archival pigment print Gift of Kevin Willsey 2014.11
Using her Leica camera, Donna Ferrato photographs Lisa and
her husband Garth in their bathroom arguing when things
become violent. Garth’s overwhelming figure fills almost a third
of the photograph as he lunges with his arm raised, while Lisa
makes her body as small of a target as possible, folding in on
herself. In the mirror we see Ferrato holding her camera. This
ratio of space between women and men in the composition
parallels how gender roles impact the spaces and even threaten
women within them. Between the years 1992 and 1999 there
were 7,266,460 intimate partner victimizations against women.
Ferrato began documenting domestic violence and its effects
over 20 years ago. Her work brings this issue to the forefront of
society and presents it as a bold, undeniable problem.