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| Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City (1962) |
Diane Arbus had a unique taste. Her photographies are about the marginal characters of society, peculiar people, the “freaks”. She had the courage to follow what was interesting for herself and not primarily what was culturally acceptable. Diane Arbus’ work was pretty much about her; a reflection of herself. She photographed those on whom she recognized her owns excitements and vulnerabilities.
“I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don't like to arrange things. If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself.” (Diane Arbus)
2. Do you think that photographers tend to prey on vulnerable people?
3. What is Larry Clark’s Tulsa Project about?
The project Tulsa is about Larry Clark’s life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There are pictures of him hanging out with friends, shooting drugs, guns and getting laid. A quite authentic book with a shocking and “impolite” genre that portraits a nasty part of America which many didn’t want to see. What is most unique of this project is that Larry Clark was an insider. Usually journalists are outsiders. They come spend some time with a community to get some knowledge of their subject and then go away again, but Larry not, he was part of it. He was one of them. Thus, making the book become much more like a diary - a personal confession.
4. What is the title of Nan Goldin most known work?
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency is the most known work of Nan Goldin. It is composed by 40 pieces of music and 900 slides with images of friends and autobiographical moments. These photographies portrait the difficulties men and women have to maintain relationships, misunderstandings, drug use, male violence and roles women are given. Nan Goldin thinks photography is her way to communicate, seduce people, to be fully present in the moment and to be able to hold onto this moment at the same time.
5. What is Araki’s work now? And what is his philosophy about?
Araki’s work took the principle of diary photography to a new level of intimacy. He is a promiscuous photographer taking shots of everything around him. Araki photographs his daily life publishing a book every month. There is nothing he wouldn’t photograph – even his most intimates moments are exposed. Araki thinks that photos can help him to remember things. Reaching a point that he doesn’t shoot what he doesn’t want to remember.
Araki believes that it is hard to say whether you can reveal what a person is like through photography but you should think that’s actually what you’re going to do and take it as your goal. Looking at his black and white pictures he feels he can get the past, present and the future of those people only in one shot.
6. What is Richard Billingham’s work about?
Richard Billingham’s work is about his family and its situation at the heart of working class life in Britain. He, especially, depicts the daily life of his father who was an alcoholic. At first, when Richard started taking pictures, he wasn’t concerned about photography. He wanted to be a painter, but he couldn’t get his father to be still for more than 20 minutes. So he had the idea to first photograph those moments and from those pictures he could later make detailed paintings. However later on those pictures became the photobook called Ray's A Laugh.
2. Do you think that photographers tend to prey on vulnerable people?
I think this is a quite controversial topic and that can’t be generalized. In my opinion there are journalists who tend to prey on vulnerable people because it is an easy shot both in terms of market consumption (dramatic and sensationalistic pictures sell more) as well as in terms that these people are really easy to access. However, I also think that there are photographers that target in some marginalized subjects because somehow they are interested in and connected to it, they feel compassion.
The project Tulsa is about Larry Clark’s life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There are pictures of him hanging out with friends, shooting drugs, guns and getting laid. A quite authentic book with a shocking and “impolite” genre that portraits a nasty part of America which many didn’t want to see. What is most unique of this project is that Larry Clark was an insider. Usually journalists are outsiders. They come spend some time with a community to get some knowledge of their subject and then go away again, but Larry not, he was part of it. He was one of them. Thus, making the book become much more like a diary - a personal confession.
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency is the most known work of Nan Goldin. It is composed by 40 pieces of music and 900 slides with images of friends and autobiographical moments. These photographies portrait the difficulties men and women have to maintain relationships, misunderstandings, drug use, male violence and roles women are given. Nan Goldin thinks photography is her way to communicate, seduce people, to be fully present in the moment and to be able to hold onto this moment at the same time.
Araki’s work took the principle of diary photography to a new level of intimacy. He is a promiscuous photographer taking shots of everything around him. Araki photographs his daily life publishing a book every month. There is nothing he wouldn’t photograph – even his most intimates moments are exposed. Araki thinks that photos can help him to remember things. Reaching a point that he doesn’t shoot what he doesn’t want to remember.
Araki believes that it is hard to say whether you can reveal what a person is like through photography but you should think that’s actually what you’re going to do and take it as your goal. Looking at his black and white pictures he feels he can get the past, present and the future of those people only in one shot.
Richard Billingham’s work is about his family and its situation at the heart of working class life in Britain. He, especially, depicts the daily life of his father who was an alcoholic. At first, when Richard started taking pictures, he wasn’t concerned about photography. He wanted to be a painter, but he couldn’t get his father to be still for more than 20 minutes. So he had the idea to first photograph those moments and from those pictures he could later make detailed paintings. However later on those pictures became the photobook called Ray's A Laugh.
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