Presentation:
The Amish
How do you photograph those that do not allow themselves to be photographed? You turn to the unique objects and systems they use that define their existence within contemporary American society. The Amish, arguably the most conservative sect of practicing Christians within America today, are instantly recognizable by their dress, speech, modes of transportation, and off-grid relationship to electricity.
So-called “peculiar people” (Titus 2:14), the Amish live a seemingly slower-paced life, centered around their church community. Without a connection to the “grid”, they will often choose hand powered appliances over electric options, in order to save their scarce power resources. In a century defined by the rapid emergence of technology, the Amish are adapting to life in their own ways. These photographs build a portrait of Amish existence within the 21st century.
Jane Flynn
Jane Flynn completed her MFA degree in Media Arts, with a concentration on Photography, at the College of Mass Communications and Media Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois in 2016. In 2013, she earned a BA in Fine Art, with a specialization in photography, from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee, Scotland. She is currently a full time carer to her two children.
Her book, Mennonites of Southern Illinois: A Photographic Journal, documents the lives of the Mennonites from two different Mennonite communities in southern Illinois. It was published by Southern Illinois University Press in 2024.
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