What I like about Mr. Penn? Well, it's hard to put into words really. There's just something about his style and the way he shoots that draws me in.
'Tennessee Williams New York, 1951'
His portraits are usually up close often cutting off bits of the head. He went through this period where he stuck his subjects into corners. One of those subjects happened to be Georgia O'Keeffee whose expression is somewhat quizzical and even skeptical in my opinion. "Is this really going to work?" she seems to ask.
'Georgia O'Keeffee New York, 1948'
'Three Asaro Mud Men New Guinea, 1970'
Penn revolutionized the fashion photography world but he also took plenty of photos of people off the runway. I love the textures in this picture.
His works on still life and found objects are striking and even surreal. Giving the viewers a glimpse of everyday objects in completely new light; just what a photographer should be doing.
'Street Findings New York, 1999'
'Still Life with Watermelon New York, 1947'
I love the fly!
A variety of links discussing Irving Penn:
The NY Times article after Penn's death: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/arts/design/08penn.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
A short overview on his works: http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/1aa/1aa393.htm
A collection of photos: http://arttattler.com/archivepenn.html
Another collection: http://www.masters-of-photography.com/P/penn/penn2.html
A short article about Penn's photography with flowers but it includes an awesome picture; Woody Allen as Chapman which is worth a gander: http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/irving_penns_human_vases/
No comments:
Post a Comment