I’ve never been a fan of portrait photography. There is just something about a face taking an entire frame that I find off-putting. Sure, a person can be either pretty or ugly but that’s it. Typical portraits fail to move or intrigue me.
It wasn’t until my “Photography in Context” class that I was introduced to other forms of portrait photography. Photographer Louanne Watley visited our class and showed us her portraits of nuns from Southern convents. Her portraits were of their feet and told more than a shot of their faces ever could. Although she was a bit all over the place and couldn’t describe her driving force, her collection spoke volumes that she could not.
My time at the Steven Kasher gallery reminded of her work when I saw some portraits by Vivian Maier. The ones that I was drawn to were shadow self-portraits, I believe. I assume they were photographs of Maier because there was only one shadow. I liked this different take on self-portraiture. Also, there is just something intriguing about shadows. An air of mystery. Who is the person in the shadow? Can I tell the time of day? So many questions to figure out.
No comments:
Post a Comment