HOME

CATALOG

THE ARTISTS

Joanne M. Nestor

The Public Meat Market

B&W silver gelatin print, 1983; 16″h x 20″w

Joanne M. Nestor is a photographer and photo archivist working for the State of New Jersey. Joanne graduated from the School of Visual Arts in NYC with BFA in photography, specializing in architecture and fashion. Her work was featured in The Naked in New Hope Exhibition. Nestor was also featured in the Muse Gallery 40th Anniversary Exhibition in Philadelphia.

Nestor became interested in photography as a child when she was given a Polaroid “Swinger” camera for her 10th birthday. She began taking photos of her Girl Scout Troop and local events, which further sparked her passion for photography. Nestor started her career in journalism at The College of New Jersey and later took evening classes at Mercer County Community College while working full time for an auto racing newspaper. She then switched her focus from journalism to photojournalism and later to photography. She received her associate degree at Mercer and then received a full scholarship to attend The School of Visual Arts. During her time at SVA, her concentration was primarily architectural photography and a thesis program with Francis McLaughlin-Gill in fashion. The fashion studies became the sequences of her early work.

After her time at SVA, Nestor began her professional career with the Office of the Governor working for Thomas H. Kean and continued her career with Governor James J. Florio and later Governor Christine Todd Whitman. Since her time as principal photographer she has continued her career in photography at the New Jersey State Archives as a photographer and photo archivist. She is still involved with local community events and has in her spare time nominated the Stockton School for historic preservation and continues to work on community related projects.

“My work in the past has touched on themes of beauty, sexuality, and death. I have been drawn to the work of the early Victorians and their use of imagery. I have used portraiture, nudes, and sequences as a catalyst for my ideas. Their usage of composition and lighting fascinates me, along with the stark contrast of black & white imagery. Currently my work is more focused on the beauty of nature and landscapes as the seasons change and how life changes with it. This work primarily is in color as it highlights the beauty of the natural world and the habitats of endangered species and the landscapes. My recent project is the documentation of a local landscape as it changes daily. The Meadow is my current project. I started it as a touchstone each day taking a daily photo. Some days it would be one photo, other days I would take videos of the meadow and its inhabitants. There is a threat to the existing wildlife; many are endangered and native species that could lose their homes if the planned building ensues. Human intervention and the destruction of nature has become a recurring theme within my work over the past few years. I have always been active in land preservation and the protection of the last untouched open spaces and forest that have yet to be built upon.”