Joel Meyerowitz
The role of the portraiture
In search of the self
-which self?
-who’s self?
-the subject…
Or the photographer?
Diane Arbus
Photography steals and exploits
The power of the camera
She took photos to try on their skins and try being them
She was asked to take family portraits for a rich family
She captured the truth about them
They weren’t photos they were used to
They liked them because it showed their family truthfully
Two years later she killed herself
She saw what she wanted to in the photos
She wasn’t happy with who she was
so she tried to find herself in the photos of people she took
Richard Avedon
Confrontation not collaboration
Took fashion photos
Made people look perfect
Power lies with the camera
Richard Bilingham
His dad was an alcoholic
Mum had left because of it
He took photos of his dad because he had emotion
The dad wouldn’t eat for around two years
Two years later the dad moved in with the mum
The mum had made a life how she wanted it
They are like a diary of his family but they aren’t ones you want
Sally Mann
Photos of the children while they grow up
It became part of the childrens life
The kids got to choose which photos they liked
They are normally naked as its natural
The photos are the kids being natural
They aren’t forced
“The model has to give to the camera”
Larry Sultan
Took photos of his family
Photography creates the myth of family
He told his dad not to smile in the photos
In the photos the dad doesn’t think it looks like him
The dad thinks it’s a self portrait
The photos weren’t about his mum and dad but about them all
He also took photos of places around his home
Cindy Sherman
Took photos of the times
But she used herself as the person in them
It showed people other than her
People don’t know who she really is
She creates anything she wants
The photos were like movie scenes
Philip Lorca
Took photos with proper lighting
Paid for the models
Hollywood
It was all staged
He used people who got paid for sex
He paid them for photos
Cindy Sherman
Took photos as a memory
She thought the photos would not let people die
When her best friend died she found it let her down
Photography didn’t help
Molly Cadman's Photography 