Amanda Haag’s Photography was Displayed in Gallery 1313 As Part Of the 2024 Photography BFA Showcase
Recent design graduate Amanda Haag has always been fascinated by women in the scriptures and how they overcome trials. She said, “God will often send me to their scripture stories to learn something.” She wanted to honor and represent these women through her photography.
For her photography BFA capstone project, Haag created a series of diptychs and used Adobe Photoshop to make them look like paintings reminiscent of Rembrandt’s work.
She titled the exhibition “Certain Women” and wrote the following artist statement: “The women from my life displayed in these images may not mean a lot to the viewers since they do not know them, but I hope they will be a catalyst in helping viewers see the everyday heroes in their own lives.”
Haag decided to pair women in her life—her mother, aunt, two sister-in-laws and a neighbor—with women in the scriptures who share similar traits. She said, “I would think about one of the defining traits of the modern woman that has blessed my life and then tried to find a woman in the scriptures who shared that trait or went through similar experiences.”
She titled the photographs “Women of Trust,” “Women of Sacrifice,” “Women of Loyalty,” “Women of Resilience,” “Women of Consecration” and “Women of Faith.” Each diptych has a photograph of the modern woman and a photograph of a model dressed as a woman from the scriptures.
One of the women she depicted was Mary, the mother of Christ. She chose her sister-in-law to portray Mary because they share the experience of having a baby in unexpected circumstances. Haag said, “[Mary] didn’t expect to be the mother of the Son of God but she trusted and relied on God’s will for her firstborn. That’s kind of what my sister-in-law is doing.”
She chose her mother to depict Ruth in the diptych, “Women of Loyalty.” “My mom’s photo was special. She is my hero and we helped each other after the passing of my dad,” Haag said. “I used myself as the model of Ruth because we went through this loss together.”
Although Haag learned valuable techniques in lighting and photoshop through the process of making this project, she said, “The most important thing this project did was cause me to reflect on the amazing people that God has placed in my life, in both ancient and modern times. Learning more about them through this project gave me strength and I hope that viewers will be prompted to think of people in their own lives who inspire them to keep going, be believing and trust God no matter what comes their way.”
Haag’s goals after graduation include owning a photography business and becoming a mother.
