Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians

Jeb, Lori Lindsey, Lola Flash

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Book cover for Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians
Book cover for Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians

Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians

Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians

Jeb, Lori Lindsey, Lola Flash

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Description

The women in these portraits were some of the first dykes I ever laid eyes on, and the book feels like a lost family album. -Alison Bechdel

In 1979, JEB self-published her first book, Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians. In a work that was revolutionary for its era, JEB made photographs of lesbians from different ages and backgrounds in their everyday lives--working, playing, raising families, and striving to remake their worlds. The photographs were accompanied by writings from acclaimed authors including Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, Joan Nestle, and others. Various women pictured in the book also shared their personal stories. Eye to Eye signaled a radical new way of seeing--moving lesbian lives from the margins to the center, and reversing a history of invisibility. More than just a book, it was an affirmation of the existence of lesbians that helped to propel a political movement. Reprinted for the first time in forty years, Eye to Eye is a faithful reproduction of a work that still resonates today. This edition features additional essays from artist and writer Tee Corinne, former World Cup soccer player Lori Lindsey, and photographer Lola Flash.

Critical Reviews

The momentous reception that awaited Eye to Eye on its release demonstrated the burning desire for authentic representation. JEB published the images widely, in books and on postcards, posters, calendars, in newspapers, and exhibited in her touring "Dyke Show". Women wrote letters thanking her for saving their lives, recalling how, after seeing her images, an unfamiliar feeling of pride overwhelmed them. Eye to Eye provided women with a mirror to reflect the possibilities of what they could be or what they already were. -i-D/ Vice, February 2021

Originally self-published by JEB in 1979, it documented intimate moments between lesbians of all ages and backgrounds as they encountered day-to-day life. Each page showcases the beauty and resilience of lesbians as they work, play, raise families, fall in love and shape the world as we know it today. -Diva Magazine, February 2021

Eye To Eye serves as a vital document of LGBTQ+ history. -AnOther, Feb. 2021

Today, in an era characterized by an ubiquity of pictures in our daily lives, the truly radical nature of JEB's project is hard to grasp. But at the time (Is it really 40 years ago!) she was creating a distinctive body of documentary pictures that was unprecedented, representing women-identified women who were viewed as outliers not only by mainstream culture but, oddly, by most feminists. -Blind Magazine, March 2021

The release of Eye to Eye signalled a new way of seeing, reversing a history of invisibility. To me, this book is iconic. It's a piece of our collective queer inheritance. It's a document of all the struggles lesbian elders went through to enable us to have safer and freer lives. Its reissue, by Anthology Editions, symbolises a long-overdue validation of this critically important work. - It's Nice That, March 2021

Publishing Information

Publisher: Anthology Editions
Pub date: 2021-03-23
Length: 80 pages

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