Friday, March 3, 2017

Khadijah Brown Style Essays


Edward Weston – Edward Weston’s Book of Nudes

Edward Weston is a famous photographer who opened up his first portrait studio at age 25 in Tropico, California to which he became an independent photographer. His work consisted of a range of landscapes, portraits, still life, and nudes. The book that I chose composes of his work of nudes. Weston faced many challenges when trying to get the book published because of its content and publisher’s disinclination to the theme at such a conservative time. In 1985 the Getty Museum finally featured Weston’s nude series. Many times people look at living naked bodies as subject of sex. In looking at the images that Weston produced one can develop appreciation for nude bodies as art. Weston photographs bare bodies in the least sexual way, capturing them as mere sculptures or composites of shapes. Subjects were photographed with their bodies centered and twisted as clowns twist balloons to produce a shape. As humans we are inclined to look at faces first and for a longer time and because the body is the primary focus, majority of the images are faceless. He further brings the concentration to the body’s structure by producing the images in sepia so that attention is bought to the element of the body shapes presented. He plays with lighting angels to create dimension. Not shining the light straight forward on the body allows for certain curves and creases on the body to be emphasized. In comparison he provides some images of items and landscapes that model human shapes.                                                

Jorn Vanhofen – Aftermath

Jorn Vanhofen is a photographer who works for international magazines. Vanhofen’s series title is exactly what he captures, the aftermath of destruction on sites that were a part of the process development, industry, and commerce at one point. He captures damage in states of the world such as the Chicago Stock Exchange, Cape Town, forest fires of Apulia, abandoned factories in Detroit, and the junkyard of his hometown. While destruction is clearly seen in these sites, Vanhofen adds vibrancy to images as to suggest life, hope, or appreciation for what was there before. The spirit is felt through the picture and does not make the viewer want to run away from the destruction but invokes curiosity or desire to resolve. To not deviate attention to people and the social aspect of destruction, people are vacant from the images captured. Most images are taken outside or where natural light is prominent. Focus is often bought to the center of the page or slightly off center where the subject or most prominent object is. What I like most about his images is how the colors are coordinated. The subject is often the brightest image and framed or surrounded by complimentary, less vibrant colors. All of his images are also presented horizontally rectangular.

Arne Svenson – The Neighbors

Arne Svenson is a self-taught photographer whose work is featured in both public and private collections such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Huston, New York Public Library, Elton John Collection, and Bidwell Projects.  He has authored multiple books such as Sock Monkeys, Prisoners, and Chewed. His image composite consists of sock monkeys, adopted images of early 20th century prisoners, forensic facial alterations, and more. Svenson’s book that I chose to review is titled The Neighbors, which was also featured in the exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. This book is a composite of photos of subjects through windows. Each image is framed or divided by a window. Suggesting that someone occupies the space, people are seen in the photo. The images seek to suggest something about the person living in the place whether it be what they are doing or what they may have interest in. To not put too much focus on the person, no faces are fully displayed. The people occupy the space only in one corner of the window so subjects are never centered. The subject is also often the brightest thing in the frame and surrounded by a contrasting color.

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