Performing Attractiveness: Portrait Photography Artist Talk with Sophie Joseph Schwartz

How do people perform attractiveness?

This project centers around how singles in New York perform for dating apps.

For the past two months, I have been offering portrait sessions for free with the clear intention of making photographs for use on dating apps. Before each session, I ask participants to fill out an extensive questionnaire with questions like: “What are you looking for on these apps, and who are you trying to attract?” and “What do you find attractive in other people's photos?” I let the participant choose the location and lead the direction of the images, creating space for them to perform their version of seduction. I am curious how each person performs differently based on which app they’re using and who they are trying to attract. The project's next chapter will develop as participants provide me with data on how the images perform on their profiles.

Sophie Joseph Schwartz is an artist and educator living between Brooklyn, NY, and Cleveland, OH. Their practice positions collaboration as an entry point to explore grief, memory, and queer connection.

Schwartz earned an MFA from Yale School of Art in 2023, where they were awarded the Richard Benson Prize and the Harvey Geiger Travel Fellowship, followed by a BA in Modern Culture + Media from Brown University in 2017. They were a finalist for the 2023 Silver List, Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize, Critical Mass, and the Palm Photo Prize. Their work has been exhibited at LaMama Galleria, François Ghebaly, Benrubi Gallery, AMANITA, Penumbra Foundation, Cleveland Print Room, and Silver Eye Center for Photography, among others. They’ve been a recent artist in residence at Visual Studies Workshop, Penumbra Foundation, and Haystack. Publications, including VICE, Vogue, BOOOOOOOM, WÜL Magazine, PIQUE, and Architectural Digest, are recent clients.

In 2023, Schwartz published their debut book, With and For, through Tall Poppy Press in Melbourne. They have taught at Rhode Island School of Design and Yale Norfolk School of Art and currently serve on the faculty at New York University Steinhardt and Penumbra Foundation. Schwartz is a founding member of Rubylith Darkroom in Brooklyn, NY.