The particular article I found interesting this week is from SIP (http://thesip.org/2011/08/what-is-the-city-but-the-people/#more-2127), and focused around the portrait photography of Erica McDonald, which I found exceptionally compelling. I am heavily inspired by the figure/portraiture in my own work, spanning across many different mediums and outlets. I enjoyed reading about the philosophy the article applies to portrait photography, which is explicitly stated as catching "the soul and spirit of a person by unveiling the hidden without letting the photographed subject feel 'naked'," largely because I agree with it entirely.
My favorite photograph out of the collection contained in this blog is of a heavy-set black man sitting on a bed (Erica-McDonald-03.jpg). This photograph is heavily saturated and feels very uneasy & unsettling. The man, who would in any other setting perhaps seem intimidating appears rather vulnerable, and after reading more of the article it is revealed that this man is living in an Adult Home for mentally ill people. Even without reading the article, though, the viewer can get a sense of this from the uneasy color palette of complimentary yellow & purple which clash for attention, and the strange expression on his face.
I really enjoy portrait work which allows for a narrative of some sort to take place or that forces the viewer to fill in the blanks about the person presented before them.
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