When photographer Gillian Laub’s parents’ political views became her own private nightmare, she did what she always did: made pictures
Grandpa helping Grandma out, 1999. All images from Family Matters . Photo: Gillian Laub The photographer Gillian Laub grew up in a well-off New York City suburb, in a Jewish family whose defining quality was “a lot”: a lot of people, a lot of money, a lot of expression, a lot of love. As she developed her practice, photographing and building relationships with many people whose lives were harder than her own, Laub began to feel discomfort about her upbringing.
Dad playing golf, 2019. Photo: Gillian Laub Family Matters seems to exist simultaneously from the perspective of an insider and outsider. As a fellow white American Jew raised in the New York suburbs, I have a conflicted relationship with the world I grew up in and have spent a lot of time distancing myself from it. I’m curious if that’s been your experience too.
Grandpa on the beach, 2003. Photo: Gillian Laub How did you start taking pictures in the first place? Afterwards, I cannot tell you the amount of people that came up to me and said, “I’m going through the exact same thing. Thank you.” It felt like there was this little support group forming. Another thing was that people kept coming up to me and saying, “God, I never thought I’d like Trump supporters. I love your family.” That was incredibly powerful, because we just kind of put people in boxes. That was when it dawned on me that this is a larger story.
I know. I thought about that a lot. I don’t think my family sees it this way, but they tried so hard to assimilate and to be accepted into the white world. No Black people or Jewish people were allowed in other country clubs, so when Trump’s country club opens, there you go. Everyone who can pay can be a member.
It’s more like tension, understanding cultural tensions. I do hope the work is somehow a way to build bridges. It’s a way to hear and see other points of view. My photographs and projects are in service of engaging conversations — that, to me, is the most fascinating thing. The “Southern Rites” exhibition travels through the country. It’s been in the whitest of white places, like Portland, Oregon.
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