Ali Smith is an American photographer, musician, and author[1] who in the 1990s was a bass player for the band Speedball Baby, and as one-half of The Oubliettes. Her memoir The Ballad of Speedball Baby, was published by Blackstone Publishing in 2024.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Ali Smith has published two books of photography. She is a contributor to publications including The Guardian, The Observer, The New York NY Times, People Magazine, and The Village Voice.[8]

Photography

In 2002, Smith published her first book, Laws of the Bandit Queens.[9] It contains portraits of women who influenced Smith in her career goals by succeeding while living unconventional lives. Some of the 35 women included are Alice Walker, Sandra Bernhard, Lydia Lunch, and Ann Magnuson.

Smith's second book of photography — Momma Love: How the Mother Half Lives[10] — is an exploration of modern motherhood through a feminist perspective via portraiture and deeply personal interviews. It was a New York Times "pick",[citation needed] activist Gloria Steinem wrote the back cover copy, calling it "a gift to moms,"[11] and photographer Amy Arbus deemed it "essential".[12]

In her personal work, Smith continued pursuing inspirational stories about issues she cared about most, writing and photographing essays about gun violence in America,[13] medical marijuana,[14] the environmental work of waste-pickers.[15]

Smith's photo assignments cover subjects as varied as gun violence, to celebrity portraits of Isabella Rossellini[16] and Paulina Porizkova,[17] among other clients. She also did work for Rolling Stone magazine, including, in 2023, photographing Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.[18]

Writing

Smith has published three books to date:

Smith’s writing has accompanied the photography in her books and publications. A few examples: Parenting during the pandemic for the New York Times;[19] The environmental importance of work by waste-pickers and “canners” for the Village Voice;[20] The effect of Donald Trump’s election on children aging out of the foster care system;[21] How to be environmentally responsible at Thanksgiving for the Village Voice;[22] A poem for the pandemic.[23]

Music

From 1995 and through the early 2000s, Smith was bassist for the New York City-based, avant garde, blues-influenced punk band Speedball Baby.[24] The group made its major label debut in 1998 with the album Cinéma! on MCA records. [25]

Smith and Speedball Baby guitarist Matt Verta-ray teamed up as The Oubliettes, [26] releasing one album, “Lil’ One Arm”[27] in 2013. Tracks included their cover version of Rosie and the Originals’ "Angel Baby."[28]

References

  1. ^ Smith, Ali (2021-09-23). "This Is How I Look Taking My Son to School, My Sanitized Fingers Crossed". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  2. ^ "The Ballad of Speedball Baby". www.blackstonepublishing.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  3. ^ Vivian Manning-Schaffel (2024-01-17). "Ali Smith Recalls Her Punk Past". Shondaland.com. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  4. ^ "Review: Speedball Baby: A Memoir". PublishersWeekly.com. 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  5. ^ "Review: Ali Smith finally tells her rock 'n' roll origin story in Speedball Baby". Buzzmag.co.uk. 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  6. ^ "A female rocker talks life on the road in Speedball Baby". villagevoice.com. 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  7. ^ Smith, Ali (2024-02-05). "Ali Smith's 90s New York punk scene - photo essay". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  8. ^ Smith, Ali; White, Lauren. "An Award-Winning Author Shares Her Story". Independent Publisher – feature. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  9. ^ Smith, Ali (2002). Laws of the Bandit Queens: Words to Live by from 35 of Today's Most Revolutionary Women. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-609-80807-8.
  10. ^ Smith, Ali (May 2013). Momma Love: How the Mother Half Lives. Thunder Baby Press. ISBN 978-0-9887551-0-9.
  11. ^ Silvers, Wendy (2013-04-10). "Mama Love, Momma Love". HuffPost. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  12. ^ Arbus, Amy (10 May 2013). "How the Mother Half Lives".
  13. ^ Lartey, Jamiles (2016-04-07). "'I lost part of my soul': the mothers who lost their children to gun violence". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  14. ^ Smith, Ali (2019-09-04). "With pancreatic cancer, what Stephen needs is legalised cannabis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  15. ^ Smith, Ali (2022-03-01). "A Revolution Is Taking Place, One Can at a Time". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  16. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (2020-10-13). "Isabella Rossellini: 'Ageing brings a lot of happiness. You get fatter – but there is freedom'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  17. ^ Wiseman, Eva (2022-11-27). "'Being heard is better than being seen': supermodel Paulina Porizkova on living 'unfiltered'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  18. ^ Greene, Andy (2023-04-18). "Billy Corgan Is Happy If Anyone Listens to the New Smashing Pumpkins Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  19. ^ Smith, Ali; Bright, Joshua (23 September 2021). "This Is How I Look Taking My Son to School, My Sanitized Fingers Crossed". The New York Times.
  20. ^ Smith, Ali (March 2022). "A Revolution is Taking Place, One Can at a Time".
  21. ^ "New Yorkers ontfermen zich over kwetsbare kinderen in het Trump-regime". 23 November 2018.
  22. ^ Smith, Ali (22 November 2021). "Thanks for Feasting Sustainably".
  23. ^ Smith, Ali. "Ali Smith".
  24. ^ Smith, Ali (2024-02-05). "Ali Smith's 90s New York punk scene - photo essay". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  25. ^ https://www.discogs.com/artist/1165887-Speedball-Baby
  26. ^ https://soundcloud.com/theoubliettes
  27. ^ "The Oubliettes - 'Lil' One Arm". discogs.com. 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  28. ^ Aquila, Richard (1989). That Old-time Rock & Roll: A Chronicle of an Era, 1954-1963. University of Illinois Press. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-252-06919-2.
Categories