tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post1190621677882931287..comments2024-03-27T00:32:29.877-07:00Comments on Photos and Stuff: Diane Arbus's Twinsamolitorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-81688383655081848032019-06-24T07:58:22.652-07:002019-06-24T07:58:22.652-07:00Curators hang stuff to illustrate some thesis, whe...Curators hang stuff to illustrate some thesis, whether it be a personal whim, such as "Arbus-weird [...] lazily dopey" (which at least has the merit of originality, but may not get you invited to curate many important shows. unless you happened to be of some aggrieved demographic), or to fulfill the blockbuster show canon.David Smithhttp://designartcraft.com/photo/afbp.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-44281686297514157132019-06-24T07:25:22.011-07:002019-06-24T07:25:22.011-07:00No conspiracy, I just think that if a curator happ...No conspiracy, I just think that if a curator happened to hang the three pictures I selected (more or less at random) in a row, that curator would instantly notice how out joint the sequence looks, and break it up.<br /><br />I didn't try it with other groupings, but I suspect that many similar time-compressed sequences would display the same problem.amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-7837499330861706542019-06-24T06:58:12.152-07:002019-06-24T06:58:12.152-07:00"There is, possibly, a reason why curators ar..."There is, possibly, a reason why curators are careful to put these things into separate rooms, isn't there?"<br /><br />Are you suggesting a 'conspiracy'?<br /><br />Arbus's *mature* work is of a piece; it is more than a sum of its parts, including this one.<br /><br />The earlier, *immature* work suggests a direction, one that many other erstwhile photographers embark on, but precious few get past.<br /><br />Sontag has given the best and most persuasive arguments to date as to why photography is a problematic, even illegitimate art form. While I greatly admire the quality of her thought and writing, I'm not at all convinced by it.David Smithhttp://designartcraft.com/photo/afbp.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-83092943958823639232019-06-23T19:13:26.831-07:002019-06-23T19:13:26.831-07:00Well done, I had not really examined the Teenaged ...Well done, I had not really examined the Teenaged Couple before, but you're right, it's virtually the same photo. Now I am wondering how the hell she got that high vantage point with the TLR. She must have been standing on something pretty big, and pretty close. Her waist is at the boy's throat level, but she can't be more than about 6 or 7 feet away?amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-12466853464370831892019-06-23T18:27:10.515-07:002019-06-23T18:27:10.515-07:00Very good observations, especially about the arc o...Very good observations, especially about the arc of her work, how it shifted.<br /><br />I was a graduate student briefly in NYC in time to see the show of Arbus' work at MOMA in 1966/67. I had been pouring over Popular Photography magazines so I knew you weren't supposed to use a wide angle and stand too close, as it made people look weird. Arbus was obviously doing this deliberately, and it seemed mean.<br /><br />The image that riled me most wasn't the Twins, but "Teenage couple on Hudson Street, N.Y.C. 1963". Your analysis applies perfectly to both pictures: the slanting lines, everything off kilter, the difference in apparent age, plus a few ugly distractions around them. Like the Twins, these are actually regular people formed into Diane Arbus characters. That's what I saw anyway, and as I said, it seemed mean. <br /><br />Much older now, I think this is ok. They're damn fine, provocative pictures.<br />Matt Kalliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00051484131679998977noreply@blogger.com