Barbara Ess, Musician, Photographer, Writer, Dies At Age 73

According to Artforum, Barbara pushed boundaries in all of her creative endeavors. In New York, she played in No Wave bands using toy instruments (and even fried chicken buckets). She published mixed-media for eight years by taking open-submissions and then distributing in a variety of media (such as a 77-track vinyl LP).

She exhibited widely using a home-made pinhole camera because, as she explained to the Los Angeles Times, her “…mind works better when my means are narrowed.” Eventually, she abandoned the pinhole for surveillance feeds.

Magenta Plains art gallery noted, “Her artistic impact is greatly felt and she leaves behind a formidable legacy through her work and her students. The profound loss of Ess creates a huge void, however there is much to learn from her vulnerability and directness, her dedication and her vision.”

Beach (from Balcony) (detail) by Barbara Ess from an essay in Aperture.