Diane Arbus
When I first saw her picture, I thought Diane Arbus was just some apathetic photographer with a penchant for snapping the odd, offbeat, and taboo. I changed my opinion the more of her work I looked at. Arbus is best known for her captures of freak shows and transvestites along with portraits of the unusual people we all see in our daily life. I think that she captures the essence of humanity and is not afraid to show her audience what she's looking at.
'Tattooed Man'
'Puerto Rican Woman With a Beauty Mark NYC, 1965'
Her portraits are stark and shocking often of people that many of us do not consider picture worthy by conventional standards. It is this willingness to show the truth that draws me to her.
I need to find the title for this.
Arbus was taking pictures of transvestites and transsexuals way before the issue was even muttered about. Some interviews about her talk about her ability to put people at ease, to make them comfortable enough to be natural even when in front of the camera lens. That ability is something that I strive for. Diane Arbus cared about who she shot; she wanted to know them, to be a part of their lives and reflect those lives to the viewers.
A Variety of Links:
Some dude's Flickr Account with a bunch of Arbus pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/likeabalalaika/with/4416945646/
A Kind of Virtual Photo Album. Worth the flip through: http://diane-arbus-photography.com/
Wiki Page (of course): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Arbus
An Interview about Her: http://www.masters-of-photography.com/A/arbus/arbus_articles3.html
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