Thursday 28 July 2011

anniversary of Diane Arbus's death and a photography quiz.

Welcome to the 30th editon.
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus died on 26th July 1971 aged 48. To many she was a voyeur looking at 'freaks' marginalized by society. The work is often unsentimental and cruel. There was no attempt made to demonstrate sympathy with her subjects and the images were frequently lit with strong flashlight to exaggerate this. It is surprising that she often made lasting friendships with those she photographed and often felt like an outsider herself. Arbus was from a privileged background and her parents owned Russeks a famous Fifth Avenue department store. An accomplished commercial photographer whose cleints included Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and she had an image selected by Edward Steichen for the famous exhibition 'Family of Man.' There was a history of depression within her family notably her mother and Diane Arbus took her own life with a combination of drugs and slashing her wrists. The 40th anniversary is reason to contemplate her significant contribution to the medium of photography and our own understanding of voyeurism. 

Nicholas Brewer
The image above is another addition to the 'Ghost Signs' archive and while I am pleased with this as a stand alone image the body of work is starting to feel repetitive. A style is important for a body of work but predictability and complacency is the enemy. The project has lasted nearly a year and is proving important for historical reasons but I am doubting the creative direction. Clink on the link at the top of the page and have a look. I appreciate  any feedback you care to leave.
Copyright and Fair Use. How many of you have goggled your own name? OK so have I and on a regular basis. Oh the vanity of it all. I have just goggled my name in images to see what comes up. Now I expect my work to be out there and I am realistic about this. What does annoy me is that the work is not credited. Is it better to have your work watermarked with the annoying logo that is easily retouched or do you favor low-res images? Personally I do the latter. If you are desperate enough to want to use my images then you can have them sitting on your desk top but not much else. 
'I always though of photography as a naughty thing to do - that was oe of my favorite things about it, and when I first did it, I felt perverse.' - Diane Arbus, On Photography by Susan Sontag. 
35mm Quiz



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