Barbara Ess, no wave musician and photographer, has died
Barbara Ess, the no wave musician, photographer and zine publisher, has died at age 73, Artforum reports.
Best known for her pinhole camera photographs, Barbara was also part of NYC’s no wave scene, playing in Disband, The Static (with Glenn Branca), and Y Pants. In 1978 she launched the mixed media publication Just Another Asshole which took on many forms, including a 77-track vinyl LP (Issue #5), a large format tabloid, magazine, an exhibition catalog, and more. Issues were collaborative, including two she co-edited with Jane Sherry and one with Branca.
She continued to release music while her art photography career became more celebrated, including 2001’s Radio Guitar which she made with filmmaker Peggy Ahwesh that was released by Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label.
In 2005 she published I am Not This Body, a collection of her pinhole camera photographs.
Rest in peace, Barbara.