Photographer of the Week: Diane Arbus
The artist I chose for photographer of the week is Diane Arbus, born Diane Nemerov, on March 24, 1923 in New York. Arbus's skill for art began to show at a young age. She was raised in a wealthy family. This gave her the ability to pursue art as a career. At age eighteen, she married her husband Allan Arbus. Diane, however, did not know photography before she met Allan. Allan began to teach her the skill of photography when they met, and nurtured her talent when he realized she had quite the knack for it.
As she began to grow in her skill set, Diane and Allan focused mostly on fashion and marketing photography. Together, they got published in many magazines, including Vogue. After her success in this field, she began to focus on her own artistic vision, starting in the 50s, and practicing with photographer Lisette Model.
During this period, she would roam around New York City and photograph the people she saw as she walked around. She focused on the unusual, the candid, the unique. She didn't much pose people, and instead, liked to get her subject's personality captured in the shot. Some of these photos were posted in Esquire magazine for their captivating nature.
Her art was first published at the Museum of Modern art next to next to Garry Winogrand and Lee Friedlander in an exhibition entitled "New Documents" in 1967. This was her claim to fame, the first time she was given a large audience and a lot of attention. Arbus, however, struggled throughout her life with mental illness, and on July 26, 1971, she committed suicide in her New York apartment. It wasn't until after her death that she had her own major exhibition. Her artwork was displayed in the Museum of Modern Art a year after her death. Now, she is known for her black and white portraits and her portrayal of the socially undesirable people who remain on the outskirts of society.
My favorite image of hers would have to be a photograph of three drag queens. This photo is composed beautifully and it is easy to tell in the expressions of the subjects that they are comfortable with themselves, but it is also easy to tell that they are not used to being photographed. This really captures the essence of Diane Arbus for me. She photographed people who did not get the attention others did simply because they were outcasts. She gave them their moment in the spotlight, and I think that is beautiful. The women in this photo are absolutely gorgeous: their makeup is flawless, they're obviously caught in a moment before a show, so their mid-transformation. I just love the story this photo tells. You don't really need any context to know what's going on and it's easy to tell how the subjects are feeling. I think the reason this photo really resonates with me is because I'm very drawn to this scene. I love drag shows, I love the energy, and I know how much adversity the queens face. The people who love drag are faced with hatred every day, yet they still choose to do it because it's a passion, and I think that's beautiful.
There are other photos of drag queens I enjoy as well, but they are only of one subject. One in particular I enjoy (the main photo on this page: https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/11483/diane-arbus-photography-exhibition-in-london-hayward-gallery-2019) shows a drag queen before she puts on her hair net. I love how raw it is.
I do love her other subjects as well, however. She photographed people with tattoos, which is funny to think of these subjects as outcasts because tattoos are so normalized now (https://www.bjp-online.com/2019/02/diane-arbus-comes-to-london/). This photo is amazing to me considering the time period; it's crazy that this person had so many tattoos. Another awesome picture is of a man from either a circus or a freak show, and he has a bunch of pointy prongs sticking out of his skin (https://fraenkelgallery.com/san-francisco-chronicle-reviews-diane-arbus-1971-1956). Lastly, there is a beautiful photo of a man with dwarfism that she took. He is posed in a slightly sensual manner under sheets. To me, this is really beautiful because it is so rare to see people with dwarfism in this light, and she really gave a different perspective (it is the fourth picture in this article http://internationalphotomag.com/photobiography-diane-arbus/).
Sources
http://www.artnet.com/artists/diane-arbus/
http://iphf.org/inductees/diane-arbus/
https://www.biography.com/artist/diane-arbus
As she began to grow in her skill set, Diane and Allan focused mostly on fashion and marketing photography. Together, they got published in many magazines, including Vogue. After her success in this field, she began to focus on her own artistic vision, starting in the 50s, and practicing with photographer Lisette Model.
During this period, she would roam around New York City and photograph the people she saw as she walked around. She focused on the unusual, the candid, the unique. She didn't much pose people, and instead, liked to get her subject's personality captured in the shot. Some of these photos were posted in Esquire magazine for their captivating nature.
Her art was first published at the Museum of Modern art next to next to Garry Winogrand and Lee Friedlander in an exhibition entitled "New Documents" in 1967. This was her claim to fame, the first time she was given a large audience and a lot of attention. Arbus, however, struggled throughout her life with mental illness, and on July 26, 1971, she committed suicide in her New York apartment. It wasn't until after her death that she had her own major exhibition. Her artwork was displayed in the Museum of Modern Art a year after her death. Now, she is known for her black and white portraits and her portrayal of the socially undesirable people who remain on the outskirts of society.
My favorite image of hers would have to be a photograph of three drag queens. This photo is composed beautifully and it is easy to tell in the expressions of the subjects that they are comfortable with themselves, but it is also easy to tell that they are not used to being photographed. This really captures the essence of Diane Arbus for me. She photographed people who did not get the attention others did simply because they were outcasts. She gave them their moment in the spotlight, and I think that is beautiful. The women in this photo are absolutely gorgeous: their makeup is flawless, they're obviously caught in a moment before a show, so their mid-transformation. I just love the story this photo tells. You don't really need any context to know what's going on and it's easy to tell how the subjects are feeling. I think the reason this photo really resonates with me is because I'm very drawn to this scene. I love drag shows, I love the energy, and I know how much adversity the queens face. The people who love drag are faced with hatred every day, yet they still choose to do it because it's a passion, and I think that's beautiful.
There are other photos of drag queens I enjoy as well, but they are only of one subject. One in particular I enjoy (the main photo on this page: https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/11483/diane-arbus-photography-exhibition-in-london-hayward-gallery-2019) shows a drag queen before she puts on her hair net. I love how raw it is.
I do love her other subjects as well, however. She photographed people with tattoos, which is funny to think of these subjects as outcasts because tattoos are so normalized now (https://www.bjp-online.com/2019/02/diane-arbus-comes-to-london/). This photo is amazing to me considering the time period; it's crazy that this person had so many tattoos. Another awesome picture is of a man from either a circus or a freak show, and he has a bunch of pointy prongs sticking out of his skin (https://fraenkelgallery.com/san-francisco-chronicle-reviews-diane-arbus-1971-1956). Lastly, there is a beautiful photo of a man with dwarfism that she took. He is posed in a slightly sensual manner under sheets. To me, this is really beautiful because it is so rare to see people with dwarfism in this light, and she really gave a different perspective (it is the fourth picture in this article http://internationalphotomag.com/photobiography-diane-arbus/).
Sources
http://www.artnet.com/artists/diane-arbus/
http://iphf.org/inductees/diane-arbus/
https://www.biography.com/artist/diane-arbus
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