-British photographer, 1952
Parr is one of my favourite photographers, his work on social classes in England creates an alluding mood that I want to chase. As well as being interested in class systems, he is also interested in how strange the population is, which I happen to love too. As one example, we make cakes that look like other things eg. pigs, its tacky and weird, so he documents that. In his series 'Signs of our time' he documented tacky little items that people like, to use one image, he took a photo of a cheap light switch border. Why do we like tacky items? One of my favourite images of his is in the series, 'the last resort '93', (see left) as I find it quite humorous as the lady has spotted the photographer but I believe she thinks he is 'admiring her' when really he's just documenting her. |
-American photographer, 1951
Philip-Lorca Dicorcia combines the truth and fiction by carefully planning where to place an object or person, placing real people in places but not people and places that would naturally be seen together . He often creates a cinematic feel through his use of lighting and framing. This photo (see right) is staged to look documentary but he actually paid prostitutes who wanted to actors to pose in his photos. |
-American photographer/photojournalist , 1903-1975
He is best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), documenting the effects of the Great Depression and revealing poverty in the USA. He stated that his main goal was to make pictures that were "literate, authoritative, transcendent". This image (see right) can be argued to be objective as it is taken posed and blunt. But is the camera telling the truth for this image? |
-German photographer, 1876-1964
August Sander made it his mission to photograph everyone in Germany, prior to World War II, he gave every individual equal dignity. However, each image conveys a different depth as each individual has a diiferent backdrop and stance that can only be their own. It entices you to read beneath the surface, asking yourself 'why does this person look this way?' questioning the truth of the picture. He loved to look into the humanity of every person he saw, what they could see in life. However, his work would often be destroyed by the Nazis as he angered them by taking pictures of young Nazis in the same way he would a Jew, in front of a blank wall for instance. The Nazis saw themselves as superior so were growing agitated by his disregard for 'standards' so they would burn some of his negatives at times. This only made him more influencial. 'New objectivity' is a term that would often be linked to his work. |
-American photographer, 1939
William Eggleston is a very, VERY influential photographer, he changed photography through his use of colour, he is seen as the 'pioneer' of the snapshot aesthetic. He only takes one photo creating a spontaneous and often playful image. He photographs the mundane and honest (see right), this can often make the everyday feel appealing whilst showing a complexity and beauty in each snapshot. His photos created the aesthetic that can be seen all over instagram nowadays, inspiring the oblivious on a second-hand level. |
-French photographer/ conceptual artist, 1953
Her work is very personal, creating a response thats both a concept and a narrative. For instance, she followed a stranger to Italy (see left), She also found a job as a hotel maid, she then took photos of strangers belongings to create fictional stories about them. She made herself an influencial female photographer by documenting responses to a letter she got from her boyfriend, breaking up with her. She sent the letter to many different people such as a dancer, photographer, psycologist and a crossword maker (see left), asking them to analyse it and create a response |
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-American photographer, 1928-1984
He is a street photographer and hunter and is also very very playful in his work. He defined street photography as an attitude as well as a style. however, he was first known for his portrayal of US life and the social issues that come with it. One image that clearly shows his thinking is his image of central park zoo (see right), he is playing with the fact that the lady is posing for a photograph for someone else but she also leads us to the rhinos, he leads us through the image so we take every detail into account. His workmanship is impeccable. |
-Canadian photographer, 1946
He has experimented with both still life photography and cinematic photography with great success', one of which is called 'mimic', it was taken just after the vietnam war- hence the racist gesture being made by the male in the middle (stretching his eye out). At first glance this image is street/documentary photography but in acual fact it was staged, however there are small clues, for instance the street is empty so clearly they would have noticed a person with a camera standing in the middle of the street. |