ron roelandt

Bologna, 16.05.2026

Ruth Orkin was a photographer and filmmaker. But above all, she was a photographer. Black and white, of course: she was born in 1922, and most of her work was created at a time when colour photography had yet to become commonplace.

Orkin was both a filmmaker and a photographer in an era when women were expected to do very different kinds of work, and when it was considered improper for a woman to travel alone. Ruth Orkin travelled, photographed, and made films.

I visited a retrospective of the American artist in Bologna. What struck me was that most of the visitors were women.

UK

Ruth Orkin era fotografa e regista. Ma soprattutto fotografa. In bianco e nero, naturalmente: era nata nel 1922 e gran parte della sua opera risale a un periodo in cui la fotografia a colori non si era ancora affermata.

Orkin era regista e fotografa in un’epoca in cui dalle donne ci si aspettava ben altri ruoli e in cui una donna che viaggiava da sola era considerata fuori luogo. Ruth Orkin viaggiava, fotografava, girava film.

Ho visitato una mostra retrospettiva dedicata all’artista americana a Bologna. Mi ha colpito il fatto che la maggior parte dei visitatori fosse composta da donne.

IT

Ruth Orkin was fotograaf, en filmproducent. Maar vooral fotograaf. Zwart-wit, natuurlijk: ze werd geboren in 1922 en het grootste deel van haar oeuvre legde ze in een periode vast toen kleur nog niet op film hield.

Orkin was filmproducent en fotograaf in een tijd dat vrouwen ander “werk” behoorden te verrichten, in een tijd dat het ongepast was als een vrouw alleen reisde. Ruth Orkin reisde, fotografeerde, filmde.

Ik bezocht een overzichtsexpositie van de Amerikaanse in Bologna. Het viel me op dat het grootste deel van de bezoekers vrouwen waren.

NL