The Genius of Photography- Part 5 ,,We Are Family "

1) Who said “ The camera gave me the license to strip away what you want people to know about you, to reveal what you can’t help people knowing about you”, and when was it said?

Above sentence was said by Diane Arbus in the early 60s. She was an American photographer who believed that the camera had the ability to steal other peoples faces and life. By taking pictures she tried, in her own words ‘’be good’’. She badly wanted to be someone else and by her images she identified herself with the photographed person.

2) Do photographers tend to prey on vulnerable people?

Photographers have always looked for marginalised subjects to photograph. It is a big controversy in recent years whether or not photographers tend to prey on vulnerable people. For example people who are exposed socially, economically or culturally in some way. For me question is whether the photographer feels compassion for his subject or is simply driven by his hungry eye... Personally as much as a photographer can feel sorry for a subject, he always wants to create a piece of art, an image with a meaning, document a history and capture life. Sometimes it means to take advantage of a poor situation and to draw attention to other people. On the other hand that can work in favour for the photographed subject and resolve misfortune.

3) Who is Colin Wood?

Colin Wood is a 7 years old (skinny) boy who’s photograph was taken in 1962 in Central Park, NY by Diane Arbus. The photo is funny but also tragic because a boy holds a grenade in his hand.

4) Why do you think Diane Arbus committed suicide?

Diane’s work is all about her, is a reflection of herself in her photographs. It looks that she wanted to be anybody but herself. The level of empathy which is so rare in any art because she so desperately didn’t want to be herself. Personally I think we would never find out why she took her own life in 1971. 

5) Why and how did Larry Clark shoot “Tulsa”?

Larry Clark was taking photos of his own life, a life of hanging out with friends, taking drugs, getting lay with a neighbourhood. He was an insider which made his work more authentic. He photographed the part of America that no one was bothered to see. A piece of photojournalism. In his hands photography became as personal and confidential as written diary because he was one of them not one of us.

6) Try to explain the concept of “confessional photography”, and what is the “impolite genre”?

The ‘’confessional photography’’ is the genre of photography which tells the story about our own life and experience. It is like personal diary which shows different aspect of a journey. Larry Clark opened this new “impolite genre”, photos were profound and porn. It is rather impolite, more intimate and clearly shows this nasty things that nobody wants to know about it.

7) What will Araki not photograph, and why?

Araki is Japanese photographer and contemporary artist who captures daily life. There is nothing Araki would photograph. Having all the photos helps him to remember. He doesn’t shoot what he doesn’t want to remember only things are worth remembering.

8) What is the premise of Postmodernism?

Postmodernism is taking place now. We are living in a culture so saturated with media imagery and media models of how people live that our life is made of media myth. People are influenced by media start to lose the own identity. It has affected portrait photography in the studio as people create themselves for someone they aren’t.