My name is Rebecca Freimuth. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I make pictures of people, architecture, and other things.
By the way, I am also visually impaired.
Yes. I am legally blind, yet I do not view my visual impairment as a hindrance – it does not define me. It allows me to see, experience, and uniquely capture the world. I notice the nuances most overlook. Shapes, colors, textures, light and dark, take on a whole new meaning.
I am intrigued by the old-world architecture Cincinnati offers - those dumpy buildings functioning as the forgotten backdrop of our daily lives. I see a calm, quiet beauty- a stillness - within the (sometimes) crumbling bricks. I imagine a family of German immigrants in their new home. I think about the African-American family pushed out by gentrification. I wonder about the homeless who call those buildings home.
The French street photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 - 2004) is my greatest inspiration. His work continues to teach me to appreciate symmetry and clean lines. To view each person as a beautiful creation with many stories to tell. To seek out and enjoy the quiet loveliness of simple objects – a lamppost, a flower growing from the crack in an abandoned building, the ice cream stand on a summer day.
Interesting people doing interesting things speak to me—however, interesting people doing absolutely nothing interesting fascinate me. People communicate thoughts and emotions without a single word. Race, gender, and social class do not exist through my camera lens, and each of us is a living work of art.
I make pictures because I want you to see. People. Places. Pretty things and not-so-pretty things. The reality of our culture and society. I want you to pause for just a moment and take in the world around you.
Peace,
Rebecca