Debbie Fleming Caffery: In Light of Everything

Debbie Fleming Caffery: In Light of Everything immortalizes in book form the artist’s first major career retrospective presented at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Examining the deep emotional relationship between people and place, Caffery is recognized as a leading photographer visualizing the American South. Her shadowy, blurred images thoughtfully feature elements of luster to reveal elements of the shared human experience—childhood, spirituality, labor—and ultimately bring darkness to light. This publication is her most comprehensive to date, showcasing projects produced within and beyond the American South to Mexico, France, and the American West. Caffery’s sixth title, In Light of Everything is the first to feature all series over the course of her career.

Debbie Fleming Caffery (b.1948) was born in southwest Louisiana, where she lives and works today. Her photographs are housed in numerous collections, including the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, Center for Creative Photography, The Elton John Collection, George Eastman House, Harvard Art Museums, High Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institute, and Whitney Museum of American Art. She has consistently shown in group exhibitions since 1973 and solo exhibitions since 1980. Caffery has received several grants and fellowships, such as the Guggenheim Fellowship, Fellowship from the Open Society Institute (George Soros Foundation), Lou Stouman Prize in Photography (Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego) and a commission from the High Museum of Art for their photography initiative Picturing the South. She has published five monographs, including The Spirit & the Flesh (Radius Books, 2009), Alphabet (2015), Polly (Twin Palms Press, 2004), The Shadows (Twin Palms Press, 2002), and Carry me Home (Smithsonian, 1990).