Tahani, 8, and her husband, Majed, 27, standing outside their home in Hajjah, Yemen, along with Tahani’s former classmate Ghada, 8, and her husband. © Stephanie Sinclair/VII

According to a recent report by the Ford Foundation and the non-profit organization Girls Not Brides, nearly ten million girls under the age of 18 are married each year, often to men who are ten to 20 years their senior. Photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair has been documenting child brides for the last decade in countries like Nepal, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. Her images explore the many issues surrounding the cultural practice including poor reproductive health, social isolation, lack of education and domestic violence. Sinclair’s photos along with multimedia presentations by Jessica Dimmock will be on view at “Too Young to Wed,” an exhibition that opens today to mark the inaugural International Day of the Girl Child. The United Nations Population Fund and VII Photo are using the exhibit, on display in the Vistor’s Lobby at the United Nations in New York City, to launch a campaign to “raise awareness about child marriage, help girls who are already married and ultimately, to end the practice forever.” To learn more about child marriage and the exhibition, which ends November 29, 2012, visit tooyoungtowed.org.

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All photos © Keith Carter.

Throughout his career, photographer Keith Carter has created images that evoke dreams, memory and the sense of wonder we felt in childhood. “At least in my mind, they’ve all been about hope in some way,” the Texas-based photographer told PDN in a 2010 interview. Carter will be speaking about his career and work at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art on September 9 at 2:30 p.m.  Two of Carter’s portraits are included in the museum’s current exhibition, “Portrayal/Betrayal” running until September 16, while nearby, Brooks Institute’s Gallery 27 has put together the exhibit “A Good Conversation: The Photographs of Keith Carter,” which runs until September 27.

Photo, top: “Juggling with the Moon, 2007.” (more…)

Gordon Parks, “Emerging Man, Harlem, 1952.” Gelatin silver print. © The Gordon Parks Foundation. Collection of the International Center of Photography.

As the first black staff photographer at Life magazine, Gordon Parks photographed both the gorgeous and the gritty, and the two opposing subject matters would define his career as a photographer. While Parks once said he used his camera as a weapon against the things he hated, like racism and poverty, he also admitted that it can be used to capture beauty, such as fashion and society portraits.

In honor of the centennial of the ground-breaking photographer’s birth, the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City, in co-operation with The Gordon Parks Foundation, is hosting a unique outdoor exhibition that can be viewed along the museum’s exterior. “Gordon Parks: 100 Years” includes an oversize mural of “Emerging Man” (above) and over 50 photographs by Parks, which will be displayed via three video screens as part of a window installation at the ICP building at 1133 Avenue of the Americas through January 6, 2013. Visit icp.org for more information.

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“Untitled,” 1960s. © The Estate of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard is best known for the eerie, masked portraits in his photo book The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater, which was published after his death in 1972. Beginning on Saturday, May 19, 2012, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will exhibit “Ralph Eugene Meatyard: Dolls and Masks,” which explores Meatyard’s early work from the late-Fifties through the Sixties. In the images, his friends and family members wear masks while posing in rundown houses, forests and cemeteries. Dolls and doll parts also figure prominently in the work. The exhibition runs through August 5, 2012. For more info, visit www.philamuseum.org.

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All photos © Estate of Dare Wright/Courtesy Fred Torres Collaborations

The peculiar, haunting photos Dare Wright created to illustrate her 1957 children’s book, The Lonely Doll, have attracted fans such as photographers Cindy Sherman, Laurie Simmons and David LaChapelle. Wright created an entire world and narrative around her doll, who is befriended by two stuffed bears. The story of Edith, who “lived in a nice house and had everything she needed except somebody to play with” echoes Wright’s own sometimes isolated childhood. More than 30 images Wright created for the book are now on view at Fred Torres Collaborations in New York through April 28.

Photo above: “‘I hate rain,’ Edith grumbled crossly. ‘Why couldn’t Mr. Bear take us with him? There’s nothing for us to play indoors.’ ‘We’ll find something,’ said Little Bear. ‘Come on, let’s explore the house.’”

Dare Wright, the daughter of portrait artist Edith Stevenson Wright (yes: her mother and her doll shared the same name), was born in Ontario, raised in Cleveland and moved to New York City in her 20s. She authored 21 books, all featuring her black-and-white photos. She died in 2001. More information on her life and critical appraisal of her books can be the artist’s page on the Fred Torres web site.

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