‘Godmother Of Atlanta Photography’ Releases New Book

Acclaimed photographer Lucinda Bunnen is releasing a book of new works, called “Gathered.” The collection is made up of images of artwork she has collected through the years.

Myke Johns / WABE

If you’re looking for clues regarding Lucinda Bunnen‘s importance to art photography in Atlanta, you need only turn to the High Museum.

There, they hold the Bunnen Collection, which makes the High one of the nation’s premier collecting institutions for contemporary photography. With a number of Bunnen’s own works there, her influence can be felt both in and behind the work on display.

As co-founder of the Atlanta Photography Gallery and Nexus (now known as the Atlanta Contemporary), Bunnen’s contributions to the art form in Atlanta are far-reaching. Documentary photographer Billy Howard said of her, “If there is a rock behind Atlanta photography, it is Lucinda Bunnen.”



Someone with those credentials could be expected to rest on her laurels — but not Bunnen.

The photographer is releasing a book of new works, called “Gathered.” The collection is made up of images of artwork she has collected through the years.

“I like the outdoors and the rough and tumble,” she tells “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes. “That’s kind of what my collection is all about. A lot of things are broken … we call it ‘wabi sabi.’ And wabi sabi is ‘not quite right.’”

Bunnen will have an exhibition of work from “Gathered” at Mason Fine Art Gallery from Sept. 13 through Oct. 31.