Personal Study- Pioneers of Portraiture photography.

For my chosen pathway i have chosen Portraiture because there is so much a camera can capture with a person by examining their face alone you can see there ethic group there personal quality's and by them expressing emotion you can connote their story's and trials and tribulations they've been through. A photograph of a person enables the viewer to see the subject for what they appear to be however a portrait gives the viewer a deeper incite into what this subjects personality is.



The first artist I looked at was Angus Mcbean. Angus began his career in the theatre as mask-maker and scenery design before turning to full-time theatre photography.

This is quite a quirky photo because the model appears to be staring through a glassless window which has a random disc with a  knife attached to it.

Next is Alfred Stieglitz he was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form.

In this image the eyes of the model looks as if he is seriously focusing on something in the distant. The awkward positioning of the hands convey he is in deep thought unaware of the uncomfortable position just very focused on his prey.

Then we have Paul Strand he was an American photographer and film maker who, along with fellow modernist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz  helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century.

I love the serious expression on this models face as well as the tones which is most probably some sort of dirt smeared on his face, from what I can make put he is wearing dungarees which could  suggest he is a child worker, in my opinion this photograph could also be documentary as well.


Then finally we have Man ray Man ray is also a American artist however he is most known for his experiments in the darkroom such as he's photo grams which he called 'Rayo grams', However he is also well known for his portraits which displayed in an exhibition dedicated to hi portraits in the national portrait gallery earlier this year.

This extreme close up of these saddened eyes is very effective and to add to it Man ray has placed little crystal gems resembling tears around the face which gives the piece a quite mellow but clever look.

However my favorite portrait artist has to be
Jill Greenberg;

Jill Greenberg

 

Jill  Greenberg is an American photographer raised in the suburb of Detroit. She graduated with Honor's in 1989 from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Photography and then moved to New York City to pursue a career in photography.

In 2007 she was selected by French Photo Magazine for their 40th anniversary issue to represent one of the 40 most important photographers.Since then she has done some commercial work for corporations such as, Microsoft, Dream works, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Disney, Coca Cola, and many more. Her photos have also  appeared on the covers of  well known American newspapers and magazines such as Time, Newsweek and  Entertainment Weekly  as well as many more numerous publications.

She also photograph's Celebrities and CEOs from numerous jobs, from being inside the music industry to the film and these include people such as Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, Alicia Keys and Chris brown. She is a Worldwide photographer whose held exhibitions of her artwork in places such as Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Paris, France; Adelaide, Australia; San Francisco; Chicago; and various other cities.

 

 

Greenberg's End Times

One of her projects that i am most interested in is called Greenberg's End Times which was a project she did in 2006. This project features, a series of photographs featuring toddlers  crying, she did this project it is said at anguish and frustration with  the bush administration and Christian fundamentalism in the united states.

 This project actually caused a lot of controversy in 2006 and mainly because The methods for getting the children to cry in some cases was by offering the children candy, then taking it away this raised allegations of unethical conduct even thought the parents of these children were present in the room at the time.This incited with a submission of numerous complaints to the art gallery that hosted a public showing of Greenberg's work.

I love how the lighting really compliments the subject in this photograph to the right the lighting looks as if it is placed on each side of the child to highlight her blond hair as well as her cheekbones. On the right it looks as if the lighting is hitting her directly from the left to highlight her whole body as the model is turned to the left as well.

I really like the detail in these images but they are almost too perfect which lead me to believe Greenberg manipulated the photograph by using either photo shop or another photo editing software. The texture in this photograph is also quite beautiful  I think the lighting collaborated with this, as the lighting is coming from the left on this particular picture it really flatterers the subject thought as it  highlights the creases in his face which he makes whilst frowning. The eyes are also well captured they almost look animated because of course of the tears swelling up in them however, these eyes also resemble 'puppy dog eyes' the phrase to suggest cute looking eyes i think the eyes are a key part in making the viewer feel guilty.

I think after now having looked at Greenberg I'm planning on going a similar route with more Child Photography as children are quite photogenic and cute and innocent to capture, I highly doubt ill take on Greenberg's approach to upsetting kids by taking away candy from them I think I'll go for a more happier child them like something to do with their imagination and how there perception of the world is candy coated to some degree.