Enchanted Realities: The Photography of Merry Moor Winnett

Enchanted Realities: The Photography of Merry Moor Winnett explores the life and work of Merry Moor Winnett (1951-1994), a graduate of the University of South Florida, who, upon relocating to North Carolina, taught at Guilford College, Salem College and the Sawtooth Center. Friend, fellow photographer and author, Cherl Harrison, researched for nine years, her work culminating in a biography describing the influences of family, popular culture, literature and feminism. Studying Merry’s letters and images revealed a wealth of new information detailing her methods and purposes. Merry seamlessly wove her diverse interests using alternative processing techniques that were stitched, collaged, composited, toned, hand-painted and sometimes sculpted. Each image was meticulously handmade, transforming ordinary subjects, redefining “truth” as both reality and perception, and transcending the visual level to involve both spiritual and emotional ones. These works defined her role as a leader in experimental, alternative photography. In the book, references are made to other experimental photographers from the invention of photography in 1839, including Oscar Rejlander and Lewis Carroll, to modern artists Bea Nettles, Evon Streetman, Jerry Uelsmann, Clarence Laughlin and Arnold Doren. Chapters dedicated to her primary subjects include the moon, landscape, botany, still life and the human figure. Although Merry obtained international recognition, the shortness of her life prevented a wider audience. Accolades and awards included seventy jurors’ selections for exhibitions in twenty-eight states and ten foreign countries. Merry’s works are found in the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Reynolds Collection, Southeast Museum of Photography, Asheville Museum of Art, Chrysler Museum of Art, Chase Manhattan Bank and NYC’s Floating Foundation of Photography. This book provides a comprehensive examination of an important female artist whose significant body of photographic work affirms Fine Art Photography as a valuable art form and evokes powerful emotions almost three decades after her untimely death at the age of 42.