David LaChapelle

From the first time I saw David LaChapelle’s work I knew I wouldn’t forget it in a hurry. His images are so bright and attention-grabbing that they just can’t be ignored. His ideas are always crazy and often controversial. He has worked with many famous faces, magazines and brands and is a very sought after photographer. I noticed that he was holding an exhibition in Mayfair and I immediately started looking through his images again. They are always fun to look at and it’s amazing what he can get some people to do! He has been quoted as saying he is drawn to “sexuality and spontaneity” which are two words I would definitely use to describe his work. He has also directed a few music videos, which are instantly recognize as his once you are familiar with his work and style. I’ve looked closely at his images of celebrities and how he has made them confront controversial issues about themselves and society. He often gets them to joke around with their image and their own work. Below is an image of Kanye West. In this image he is dressed as Jesus on the day he was crucified. This image doesn’t just question religious issues but race issues as well. Some people may feel offended when they see this image while other will believe it is a true representation of what Jesus could have looked like. Some will appreciate it as art while others will see it as blasphemy.

Below are a couple more examples of his images. The first image has a strong sense of the idea of semiotics. To me the image is showing how fast food is taking over the American people.

“My work is about making candy for the eyes. It’s about grabbing your attention. Even though my work is appearing in magazines I am trying to make a large picture. I want my photographs to read like a poster.” - David LaChapelle - American Photo

“People say photographs don't lie, mine do.” - David LaChapelle - Collector's edition of Life

“My idea was that if I took a picture of somebody and years later, or whenever, they would die and if someone wanted to know who this person was, they could take one of these pictures and it would tell who the person was.” - David LaChapelle

http://www.photoquotes.com/showquotes.aspx?id=147&name=LaChapelle,David
http://www.lachapellestudio.com
David LaChapelle – Heaven to Hell – Book
David LaChapelle – The Rape of Africa - Book

Irving Penn Exhibition

Along with the rest of the class I went to view the Irving Penn exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Penn is a world famous and much loved photographer and I believe this exhibition of his portraits reflects this well. His images are all beautifully shot and I was captivated as soon as I walked in the room. The exhibition boasts images from seven decades, including many famous faces such as Christian Dior, Al Pacino, Pablo Picasso and Alfred Hitchcock.

Penn was quoted as saying "In portrait photography there is something more profound we seek inside a person, while being painfully aware that a limitation of our medium is that the inside is recordable only so far as it is apparent on the outside". Penn used a very plain and basic set when shooting his subjects so that they couldn’t hide behind the luxury that they were usually offered and they only had their true personality to count on and shine through. His portraits were often shot close up, and he used many different visual tricks to get the subject to express their personality to the camera. He became well-known for introducing this new style to portrait photography, which now has become a successful and popular style for many photographers since. His close-up images showed every single detail on the subjects face and gave me a real feeling of intimacy with the subject. You can see every single hair, line and mark. This is displayed in the two images I have added.

Penn once said that "sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is the one they would like to show to the world … Every often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe." When looking at his images I feel the connection between Penn and his subjects and how he coaxed them out of their shell. This then gives me, as an audience member, the same feeling of connection with the model which then makes me warm to them more as a person. He makes his subjects appear more ordinary as the image is shot with such a minimalistic style. Overall I think this exhibition is a must see and it imprints that Penn is a inspirational portrait photographer of whom there is a lot to be learnt from.

National Portrait Gallery - Irving Penn Portraits - £10

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/feb/22/irving-penn-portraits-photography

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/whatson/irving-penn-portraits-exhibition-article-9153.html

http://slamxhype.com/art-design/irving-penn-portraits-exhibition/

Robert Frank - The Americans

Robert Frank’s ‘The Americans’ has been hailed as the most important photography book since World War II. Frank took the images for this book while travelling around America with his family from 1954 until 1956. His images look deeper into American life, looking at the segregation and loneliness of the American people during that time. His images often confront subjects such as racism and politics. The style of his images caused as much controversy as the subject matters as they were often blurry and out-of-focus.
In the image below the composition is everything and gives the image a real story and meaning. The use of semiotics in this image comes across through the sign and idea of culture of the American flag covering the women’s faces. When I first saw this image it felt to me as though Frank was trying to show us how America overpowers and dictates to its people. The politics of America and the fact that it believes it holds so much power means that the American people themselves are being overlooked. The symbolism of the flag covering their faces shows that America has taken over their own identity, and that they are seen as part of America and not as individuals. The image is all about identity and how we perceive theirs.

The next image below also confronts the idea of America controlling its people. I believe that the two young girls running into the American flag is a strong factor in the image as it shows how America wants to control the minds of its people from birth.
This book was disliked by a lot of American citizens when it was first published and this alone shows that they were not happy with the rest of the world seeing what America is really like.

I really like Robert Frank's images, especially all the photos in this book. I love the way they are shot, the composition, and the controversial thing he chooses as his subjects.

Eileen Perrier

Eileen Perrier is an English photographer, born in London in 1974. She comes from a mixed cultural background of Ghanaian and Dominican descent, which is strongly reflected in her work. She has held many exhibitions of her work, including exhibits at The Photographers Gallery and Tate Britain in London. Most of her works are series of portraits of people who are all linked in some way. One of her series included people who all have a gap between their teeth, the images were shown at Piccadilly Circus underground station. The two images that I have shown are from Eileen’s series named ‘6-8’ which she started in 2000 and still adds images to today. The series includes portraits of cleaners photographed outside the offices that they clean. I like the ideas behind Eileen’s work of photographing people who all have one common link, even if they have no others. It gives me a sense of community and bringing people together. Although I like her ideas I don’t like her images as much. They are well constructed images but I just find them slightly boring.
Her most recent body of work took place in August 2008. She set up a portable studio in Petticoat Lane Market and in Denning Point tower block. Using a headrest device, a 5x4 inch large format camera and a black and white Polaroid instant film she asked local residents and workers to pose for portraits. This series explored her common theme of community and identity. Perrier commented, on her artist statement on her website, “Being of Ghanaian and Dominican descent, I have been presented with questions about placement, cultural identity and diversity.” I think she does successfully display her message in her images, and that works well. I would like to see more going on in the images and maybe a bit more of the subject’s personality.

www.eileenperrier.com/
http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/painting+%2526+drawing/portraits/art18072
http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/eileen-perrier-wentworth-street-studios

Sam Taylor-Wood

Sam Taylor-wood is a well-known photographer as well as a famous film-maker and artist. She recently directed the film ‘Nowhere boy’ for which she was nominated for a Bafta. She took the self-portrait image above in 2004. When I first saw this image a couple of years ago I immediately became interested and have specifically remembered it ever since. The image grabs your attention and plays with your feelings. When I saw the image I felt an overwhelming sense of freedom and innocence. The image is part of a series which all show her suspended in mid air. Throughout her career she has achieved many amazing things, some of her well-know projects include her images of David Beckham, the world’s largest art instillation where she covered Selfridges in a giant celebrity filled image, and her series of images of male actors crying, which you can see an example of below. She says of her famous series "I did it as an exorcism of tears, from not having cried through being ill. I almost never cry, and it's something I don't like about myself. I sometimes try and make myself cry. Sometimes, when I'm in pain, I say if I could just cry it would make it so much easier. I think that's why I made 28 men cry instead. I always say that my work is ahead of me three steps. With hindsight, I was sitting there with people who'd cry my tears for me.” Sam has survived cancer twice and this is what she is referencing in the quote when she says she was ill. I really like her series of the crying men. When I first saw it I felt moved, and was amazed at the way she reflected the men’s vulnerability. She managed to get so many famous people to take part in her images including Robin Williams, Jude Law, Dustin Hoffman and many others. You can see many of the images on the link below.

References:

http://www.whitecube.com/artists/taylorwood/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/nov/28/sam-taylor-wood-interview
http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f63/crying-men-sam-taylor-wood-10192.html
http://coromandal.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/sam-taylor-wood-self-portrait-suspended.jpeg