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Anne Noggle, long time Albuquerque resident, noted
photographer and writer passed away in her sleep August 16th.
She was 83 years old
.
Anne, 2001's Wings
Across America interview.
Ms. Noggle’s first love was flying. During
World War II she was a Women’s Air Force Service Pilot (WASP). After the
war she continued to fly, finding work as a crop duster as well as teaching
flying in small airports throughout the country. She landed in the airport
outside of Santa Fe, and knew than she would eventually live there. In New
Mexico she found deep and lasting friendships, and a sky that never ceased
to fascinate her.
Ms. Noggle graduated with a Masters in Art
from University of New Mexico in 1969. At the UNM Art Department she
developed her keen eye as a photographer, and her interest in making images
of women as they aged, including her witty and challenging self portraits.
She taught at UNM as an adjunct professor of Art from 1970-1984. She
received national recognition for her work as part of a National Endowment
for the Arts grant for a New Mexico photographic survey (1981), two
photographers grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (1975, 1978),
and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial fellowship (1982). Her photographs
have been exhibited in and collected by Museums throughout the world. UNM
gave Ms. Noggle an honorary doctorate, acknowledging her extensive
contribution to the field of art and art history.
Ms. Noggle’s books celebrated the
accomplishments of women. In 1975 she co-curated an exhibition and catalog
for the San Francisco Museum of Art, Women of Photography: An Historical
Survey. This exhibition was of singular importance in introducing the
work of American women photographers to a broader audience.
It was natural that she would make portraits of
her fellow WASPs as older women. These portraits were published in For
God, Country and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World
War II (1990). Her essay ““Remembrance” celebrated the contributions
their contributions to World War II:
“How few women have had the opportunity not only to
fly for our Air Force, but to be thrown together willy-nilly in training and
to know the bonding that usually is associated with groups who live and work
in close proximity. This sense of belonging is all the more intense when
the duties involve danger.” |
Ms. Noggle was 68 years old when she
traveled to the Soviet Union to photograph and record the stories of the
women Soviet Army veterans. These women were the first women to fly
combat. Without Ms. Noggle’s dedication these women’s astonishing stories
might have been lost to history. Her book, A Dance with Death: Soviet
Airwomen in World War II (1994), tells their riveting experiences and
documents the paths of their lives with her contemporary portraits. In June
2005 Ms. Noggle attended a reunion in San Diego with some of the Russian
women pilots.
In 1983 UNM Press published Silver Lining.
This out-of-print book showcased Ms. Noggle’s photographs that documented
the challenges she and other women in America faced as they grew older. She
described her experience as a photographer:
“To look straight into a face and find the pulse of
what it is to be human, that is what fuels me, that is the sum of my mind
and my longing. I am always aware of our unceasing engagement with time and
space- our ultimate limitations- translated into life and death.”
Ms. Noggle is survived by devoted friends
and her niece Dale Pease. A memorial service will be held at UNM Alumni
Chapel September 20th at 5:30 PM.
Anne (left) placing her hands in cement, May 27th
at the first WASP Memorial Fly In, Avenger Field, Sweetwater, TX.
Further questions please contact Diana Benavidez Lynn
Ann Davis at
ldavis@hawaii.edu
Anne with her best
friends--
surrounded by her beautiful photographs.
Books by Anne Noggle:
A Dance With Death: Soviet Airwomen in WWII
For God, Country and the Thrill of it all: Women Airforce Service Pilots
Silver Lining
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Museum of Contemporary Photography
Photographs of Anne Noggle
Portrait of a Beauty Queen
Artinfo |
