The Jews Of Wyoming

For my final project I intend to explore the impact Jewish immigrants had on the American western frontier, specifically in Wyoming, during the 1800s and 1900s. My goal in this project will be to understand and uncover aspects of Jewish westward expansion and how their lives were affected by living in such isolated territory. Additionally, I will dive deeper into the question of how Jewish people kept their Jewish identities alive in the absence of a truly Jewish lifestyle and populous Jewish communities. Similar to the Jewish struggle throughout history, their experiences in Wyoming represent the effort to keep Jewish customs alive when they are living in communities where they are most definitely the minority.

Penny Wolin is a Jewish American photographer who was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1953. She began her career in photography by capturing the largest rodeo in the world, the Cheyenne Frontier Days, when she was only 16 years old. She trained in both anthropology as well as photography at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. I have chosen to analyze her work for my final project as her unique upbringing in rural Wyoming has given her a unique perspective on Jewish life in America. This perspective has allowed her photo book to become extremely influential as it combines two very important viewpoints to showcase her unique identity. In parallel with her attempts to showcase how the Jewish tradition has stayed alive in a rural community, I will use my Jewish American background to show how prevalent Judaism is in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Pictured below are three images from The Jews of Wyoming that I plan on exploring further in my final project.

Throughout Penny Wolin’s extensive photographic career, she constantly altered her methodology and strategy for every photo project she created. Specifically, in The Jews of Wyoming, Wolin spent countless hours diving deeply into the subjects of her photos as well as the context she placed them in. She conducted interviews, researched, and spent time with each of her subjects in order to truly capture them in respect to her viewpoint. This viewpoint, of showcasing Jewish assimilation in a seemingly absent Jewish community is represented through her chosen methodology for this photo book. By photographing her subjects with the hope of transmitting a deeper symbolic meaning, instead of simply photographing for beauty, Wolin was able to shed light upon the Jewish community in Wyoming. Along with this, Wolin used this platform to showcase the various challenges the Jewish community faced by living in a remote and predominantly Christian area.

In the video attached below, Penny discusses how her photography has helped to uplift the Jewish community in comparison to an ever-modernizing society. She explains that “Jewish artists who use cameras are the touchpoint, the interface, between the icons and iconic events of our time and the very culture itself (Judaism).” (DEVELOPPhoto). In addition, Wolin discusses how many Jewish photographers escaped anti-semitic European nations and were able to blossom through artistic outlets such as photography. With such a strong connection to her own Jewish heritage, Wolin emphasizes the importance of showcasing Jewish photography during “the golden age of Jewish life in America”.

Personally, I intend to replicate Wolin’s methodology by photographing various representations of the small Jewish community here in Ann Arbor. With the goal of showcasing how a small Jewish population is assimilated into a large American college campus I will focus on activities and personnel that represent a combined effort to keep the Jewish faith alive as well as developing new traditions. Similar to Wolin, I plan on extensively communicating with my subjects in order to capture the essence of what it means to be Jewish in Ann Arbor. I believe that visiting a place such as the Chabad House will grant me access to the Jewish community that best represents Ann Arbor. Similarly, by visiting the Nichols Arboretum I can showcase the limited nature available to Jewish students at Michigan. Both of these locations can provide insight into the combined effort to assimilate Jewish heritage, customs, and beliefs into a modern American college campus.

In an article written for The Guardian, the methodology behind one of Penny Wolin’s most iconic photographs is discussed. Penny explains in an interview with Claire Armitstead that she spent time talking to and interviewing each one of her subjects, specifically stating that she “photographed and interviewed 36 people over three weeks.” (Armitstead). In an attempt to replicate this, whilst photographing my friend Liam, I engaged in deep conversations about his Jewish identity, personal career goals, and family life. I believe that this allowed me to capture photographs that truly represented who he is as a person, just as Penny attempted to do with each one of her subjects. Through her use of interviews alongside photographs, Penny emphasizes that while photographs can provide insight into someone’s life, the accompaniment of text alongside a picture truly rounds out the whole story. Although I was unable to photograph a wide variety of subjects, Penny’s methodology surely serves its purpose as the photos I took reflect a well-established relationship with my subject.

Despite being a fan of photography for my whole life, this was the first opportunity I had to take pictures with a specific purpose and intention. To study and replicate Penny Wolin’s method and vision was both challenging and eye opening in so many ways. Primarily, I found it difficult to draw similar conclusions from the main questions I intended on answering based on Wolin’s photographs. These questions, which were founded on Jewish assimilation into new communities as well as keeping their Jewish identities alive when living in the minority, are very complex and can have a plethora of varying interpretations. Throughout the completion of this project I found that at modern college campuses, specifically the University of Michigan, it is difficult to capture Jewish assimilation in an American society, but rather I found evidence of American assimilation in Jewish students across campus.

Diving directly into Wolin’s photographs, I found that two crucial aspects to her methodology became much more apparent as the combination of negative space/background in her photos and the interviews that she performed truly round out her mission in The Jews Of Wyoming. To exemplify this strategy I will highlight two photos from this gallery; the pictures are titled “That’s His Mother. He Never Married” by Penny Wolin and “Jewish Heritage” photographed by myself.

With these photos I attempted to replicate Wolin’s attempt to showcase Jewish familial heritage by taking a photo of my mother in front of pictures of her family, dating all the way back to her grandparents. The two aspects that I previously mentioned are extremely evident in both photographs and support the theme of keeping Jewish culture alive. Beginning with Wolin’s photograph, although the subject of this photo is her Grandfather, holding a picture of his mother, the background of eight self portraits of his family are necessary for the deeper meaning behind this photo. Wolin explains on page 30 that “I was born in this house. I have roots in this house. Maybe it’s sentiment but this is home, and that’s why I hang around here.” (Wolin). This photo showcases Wolin’s connection to both the house in the background and her ancestry that represent keeping Jewish tradition alive through family. Similarly, with the photo I took of my mother, the wedding photos of her brother, parents, and grandparents exemplify how modern Jewish Americans remember and appreciate their ethnology.

On the same note, Wolin’s use of interviews with her subjects allowed the photos to speak much more about the subject than a simple portrait shows. At first glance the photo of her grandfather may lead us to assume that he is holding a picture of his wife, maybe even presuming that she has passed away. However, with the information provided alongside the picture, including the title, the audience understands that he is holding a picture of his mother. This combination allows us to learn more about the subject himself as it is obvious that family is extremely important to him as well as keeping the memory of his loved ones alive. Without Wolin’s extended effort to interview her subjects, so much of the story behind the photographs is left out.

When taking this photo of my mother I attempted to engage in similar conversations that Wolin employed to truly represent the magnitude of the photo. Despite my already existent (and obvious) relationship with my mother, taking the photo with her family pictured behind sparked a conversation about my grandparents’ wedding. Interestingly enough, I learned that they were actually legally married a week prior to the ceremony where the picture was taken. My grandfather received his draft papers for the Vietnam War a week prior to the ceremony and my grandparents needed to tie the knot at the Justice of the Peace to avoid being drafted. If it weren’t for this project and Wolin’s methodology I would have never had the opportunity to learn this interesting and wholesome fact about my grandparents.

Despite the realizations I came to when attempting to replicate Wolin’s methodology, I found it challenging to shed light specifically on the Jewish culture and customs of students at Michigan. What I found is that many of my friends, along with the majority of other Jewish students, put more effort into embracing customs and norms of modern American lifestyle rather than Jewish lifestyle specifically. Many of Wolin’s photographs, specifically the ones titled “Johnson County Ranch Appraiser”, “Hollywood Screenwriter”, and “Laramie History Professor” showcase how Jews living in Wyoming have assimilated into their communities with new professions and hobbies. However, Wolin emphasizes that many of these subjects retain their Jewish identities through their newfound place in the community. At the University of Michigan I found that many Jewish students use the community to help embrace their lives as 21st century college students instead of as Jews. They enjoy celebrating St. Patrick’s day instead of Passover and they go out to bars on Friday nights instead of observing Shabbat, always choosing to prioritize the activities that college students around the country do.

With that being said, despite this lack of Jewish societal assimilation in Ann Arbor, once I had this realization, I found that my approach to taking photos changed in an interesting way. Rather than attempting to highlight the Jewish identity of my friends/subjects I decided to use Wolin’s methodology as a stepping stone to showcasing the individual identities that characterize them. The two photos titled “Dual Personality” and “Nichols Arboretum Explorer” both represent the personalities and lifestyles of my friends. My friend Nate is a normal hard working student here at Michigan yet he is the biggest country music fan I know. His “dual personality” represents his effort to assimilate into society as both a student and an avid Morgan Wallen listener. Similarly, my friend Liam, like Nate, is also a dedicated student who loves spending time in nature. I have taken countless walks with him in Nichols Arboretum and know that he appreciates the stress-relieving power of a nice stroll in nature. Regardless of my original intention when following Wolin’s methodology, I believe that the outcome, as represented by my photographs, pleasantly showcases the individual identities of my friends and shows who they are as both college students and Jewish Americans.

After completing this project my understanding of Penny Wolin’s photography did not change much as I still see her intention of displaying Jewish assimilation in a new community in Wyoming. Although my ability to show this in my own photos was slightly faulted, Wolin’s message still resonates with me. Spending time with this book has allowed me to realize how Jewish people have kept their Jewish identities alive in the absence of a truly Jewish lifestyle and populous Jewish communities. Specifically, through their various professions and familial remembrance, the Jewish population photographed by Penny Wolin held onto their identities and founded new traditions revolving around the Jewish faith. Despite the absence of this assimilation here at Michigan, I was able to witness a new identity that characterizes modern Jewish Americans as their lifestyle is focused around social interaction and a genuine college experience. As a whole, this project has allowed me to compare life in the 21st century, filled with conversations and adventures amongst friends, to the 20th century, characterized by hard working American Jews trying to keep their faith and customs alive. The two pictures below fulfill my thoughts on this project as we remember the industrious Jewish population of Wyoming and look forward to see how Jewish students can further their personal and cultural identities in modern America.

Wolin, P. (1992). Fringe of the Diaspora: The jews of Wyoming. Smithsonian Institution.

DEVELOPPhoto. (2012, April 11). Descendants of light: American photographers of Jewish ancestry by Penny Wolin (archive). YouTube. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrriu01rupU

Wolin, P. (2022, September 24). Penny Wolin. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from http://pennywolin.com/

Armitstead, C. (2022, September 21). A Dreamer in a Hollywood Hotel – Penny Wolin’s Best Photograph. The Guardian. Retrieved December 1, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/sep/21/dreamer-hollywood-hotel-penny-wolins-best-photograph

Leibovitz, A. (2018, January 30). Annie Leibovitz : Descendants of light, American photographers of Jewish ancestry by Penny Wolin. The Eye of Photography Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://loeildelaphotographie.com/en/annie-leibovitz-descendants-of-light-american-photographers-of-jewish-ancestry-by-penny-wolin/

Peoplepill.com. (n.d.). About penny wolin: American photographer (1953-): Biography, facts, information, career, wiki, life. peoplepill.com. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://peoplepill.com/people/penny-wolin

Booth Conroy, S. (1992, August 26). Kosher cowboys: The jews of Wyoming. The Washington Post. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/08/26/kosher-cowboys-the-jews-of-wyoming/49c313dc-43f9-455e-b638-9fd6503cf5c6/