DIANE ARBUS - Critical Account
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INTRODUCTION
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Diane Arbus was born on March 14, 1923, in New York City. Greatly encouraged from a young age to pursue her artistic abilities, she entered a career of fashion photography with her high-school sweetheart Allan Arbus, before branching out on her own. Her unique and confronting images of strange subjects in New York detached her from the mainstream photographers of the day. Her works are still current and tackle contemporary issues of today, making her an artist before her time. After a long experience with depression, Arbus committed suicide in her home in 1971, to which her life was the basis of the 2006 film Fur, starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr.
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Diane Arbus
BACKGROUND
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Childhood - Born in 1923, Diane Nemerov was raised in the a wealthy family, which owned and ran Russek’s, a fashionable Fifth Avenue department store. Second child of three, Diane’s older brother, Howard Nemerov was a multi-award winning poet and her younger sister, Renée Sparkia, became a sculptor and designer. After retiring from Russek’s, their father, David Nemerov, launched a more successful career as a painter. Diane’s artistic talents were encouraged from an early age, with the support of her father as she studied art in high school. Because of the wealth of her family, Diane and her siblings were completely protected from the Great Depression in the 1930’s. When, at the age of 14, she fell in love with family friend 19-year-old Allan Arbus, she lost all focus on her painting, and said that her only ambition was to become Allan’s wife. Many years later, she reflected on this by saying: “I hated painting and i quit right after high school because i was continually told how terrific I was. I had the sense that if I was so terrific at it, it wasn’t worth doing.”
Education - Through high school, Arbus attended the Ethical Culture School and Fieldstone School in Manhattan, in northern New York City, and took a particular interest in myths, ritual and the public spectacle, which would later be of great influence on Arbus’s photography. She devoted much time and energy in her art class, where she would paint, sketch and work in clay. Outside of school, Arbus and several of her friends would explore New York on their own, observing an unusual passersby in unfamiliar areas of Brooklyn.
Russek's fashion magazine cover
Influences - Because of her family’s vast collection and encouragement of art, the Nemerov family often traveled to Europe and other states in America to see the works in many famous art galleries. In 1941, they visited the gallery of Alfred Stieglitz and learnt about the photographers Mathew Brady, Timothy O'Sullivan, Paul Strand, Bill Brandt, and Eugène Atget. Some say that the works of these photographers can be clearly seen as influence in Arbus’s photographs.
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Diane always credited Allan Arbus as being her first teacher. In their co-owned photography business, Diane would take care of the conceptual side of the work, whilst Allan would focus on the technical side. Continually through their relationship and even during their separation in 1959, Allan encouraged Diane to pursue her own creativity through her own photography.
After leaving her fashion photography business, that she co-founded along with her husband, Arbus reached out to become more of an independent photographer and signed up for photography classes. Her teacher, Lisette Model, influenced her photography in the technical aspect. She showed her how to use the camera like an expert and how to use her art to confront her doubts and fears. Diane soon was “not listening to (Miss Model) but suddenly started listening to herself.”
Not long after her separation with her husband in 1959, she met her third mentor, Marvin Israel, who quickly became one of the major influences in her life. Whilst supporting her ideas, he advised her on her works and introduced her to many influential people. In 1961, he was able to publish her works as he became the art director of Harper’s Bazaar. He, along with Model, were the reasons why Arbus began to use her fears as a stimulus in her photography, rather than being confronted by them. Her biographer Patricia Bosworth notes, “Her terror aroused her and made her feel; shattered her listlessness, her depression. Conquering her fears helped her develop the courage she felt her mother had failed to teach her.”
Allan Arbus
Lisette Model
Marvin Israel
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Beliefs & Values - Because Arbus grew up in such a wealthy and relatively safe environment, she wanted to explore the other aspects of society through the photography; the strange, imperfect and uncommon types of people as subjects in her work. In a sense, she had rejected her own social group and rebelled against her background and upbringing to prove that she was independent as an artist.
Thrilled and excited at the wild independence she now obtained, Arbus was influenced by New York’s attitudes about money, social status and sexual freedom. She had “always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do—that was one of my favourite things about it, and when I first did it, I felt very perverse.” Arbus quickly accustomed to this new subject of photography by exploring wax museums, dance halls and flophouses. She once said: "My favourite thing is to go where I've never been.” Her work disunited from the central concerns of the prior generation. Unalike to many of the contemporary photographers of the time, Arbus valued psychology over formality, permanent over temporary, and courage above subtlety. She worked incredibly hard on her works, and was fiercely dedicated to every aspect of the job.
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
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Unusual Subjects
Diane Arbus is particularly renowned for creating intense black and white photographs of very unusual people. Arbus learned to explore how people live with similarity and difference as well as acceptance and rejection. These combinations created very interesting art, which stood out from the common artists of the time. With rare exceptions, Arbus took photographs only of people. Arbus chose her subjects very carefully, often choosing to photograph unusual people living on the edge of acceptable society. It was clear that “she was determined to reveal what others had been taught to turn their backs on.” However, through her photography, she portrayed the common and recognisable side of these unusual people. For example, she took pictures of extremely short and tall people, men dressed as women, circus performers, patients with severe mental limitations, transgender identifiers and physically deformed people. "Freaks was a thing I photographed a lot.... Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats.” She would take interest in them for being unique mysteries and not judge them or use her works in a way to embarrass or exploit them. Her subjects surely perceived this, and revealed themselves without holding back. They were also doubtlessly interested in her. Fellow photographer, Joel Meyerowitz, remarked in Arbus’s unauthorised biography: “she could hypnotise people, I swear. She would start talking to them and they would be as fascinated with her as she was with them.” This sense of mutuality is one of the most striking and original things about Arbus’ photographs.
Untitled (1), 1970-71
Untitled (1), 1970-71
Eddie Carmel, Jewish Giant, taken at
Home with His Parents in the Bronx, NY, 1970
Mexican Dwarf in his Hotel Room in N.Y.C., 1970
Distinctive Sharp-Focus Look
Along with finding the right subject to photograph, Arbus’s intentions also required a steady knowledge and understanding of the camera and its technical aspects. In the 1950s and early ‘60s, Arbus was using a 35-millimetre camera and natural lighting, without a big budget or equipment. She devoured herself in blurred surfaces and grainy textures, miles apart from the tidy and cleanliness of mainstream commercial photographs. Sometime around 1962, she then switched to a 2 1/4 format camera, which enable to her take sharper images with brilliant quality of detail. Later on, she recalled that she had grown tired of grainy textures and wanted “to see the difference between flesh and material, the densities of different kinds of things: air and water and shiny. I began to get terribly hyped on clarity.” This is the origin of the ever-so-recognised style of Arbus’s works; the distinctive sharp-focus look.
A young man with curlers at home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C., 1966
A young man with curlers at home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C., 1966
Germaine Greer, 1971
Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City (1962)
WORLD
Because of the wealth of her family, Diane and her siblings were almost completely protected from the Great Depression in the 1930’s. This is what probably inspired her revolt and rebellion against her family when she left school, to become an independent photographer and not be protected from the events around the world anymore. Even though it would be apparent that Arbus didn’t draw on from her experience during that time as influence for her photography, it would appear some of her portfolio was made up in the time her husband Allan served as a military photographer during the second World War. One of the earliest photographs in the “Revelations” exhibit is a 1945 self-portrait Diane had made for her husband while he was on service. Her feelings of separation from him during this time, and the events he would have witnessed, possibly as a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder, could have quite possibly been integrated in their work together in their business after his return, however it is not conspicuous. After the war, the couple’s photography career as commercial photographers took off. They were soon working for top women’s magazine and advertising agencies. Similar to their own projects, Diane would conceptually work whilst Allan handle the technology.
When Arbus became more independent with her photography, she spent a lot of the time taking photographs of unusual people, living in the minority of the city. These subjects included transgenders, circus people, drag queens, dwarfs and many more of the class of people considered to be very low in society. Through her works, it is obvious, that Arbus didn’t make these works with the intention of exposing them or demeaning them, but rather to give them their deserved chance to express who they truly are without hesitation. Her photography provided inspiration for many people in the minority to be proud of their identity or occupation or condition, and not let mainstream society conform them. Arbus certainly explored the social issues of the time, with a clear focus on identifying the disapproval and ostracism in mainstream society.
AUDIENCE
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Arbus’s photography wasn’t necessarily targeted towards any one group of people. Her works were largely distributed over many galleries, magazines and exhibitions, grasping the attention of many individuals. Sandra S. Phillips, senior curator of photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, was one of these witnesses. She speaks about Arbus as “a great humanist photographer who was at the forefront of what has become recognised as a new kind of photographic art. To cast Arbus in the role of a tragic figure who identified with freaks is to trivialise her accomplishments.”
Despite having been recognised as “one of the most powerful American artists of the 20th century”, some people were not so accepting or appreciative of her style. They found her images disturbing and even repellant. Art critic Susan Sontag, for example, reflected on Arbus’s work as it “shows people who are pathetic, pitiable, as well as repulsive, but it does not arouse any compassionate feelings.” Adding to this point of view, The New Republic’s Jed Perl stated that “Arbus is one of those devious bohemians who celebrate other people’s eccentricities and are all the while aggrandising their own narcissistically pessimistic view of the world.”
Opposing this, is Jeff Rosenheim’s perspective. As the Metropolitan’s associate curator of photography, he supports Arbus and says he has “never been moved by any other artist as I have been by Arbus. Her pictures have this power that is the exact correlation of the intimate relation she must have had with her subjects. They forever affect the way you look at the world.” He believes that her images remain provocative because they cause the audience to question the relationship between photographer, subject and audience. “Her work implicates you and the ethics of vision itself.”
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A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966
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ARTISTS PRACTICE
The artist has a black and white photography material practice, however this is not set up in a studio with special lighting and posing, but more set in the commonplace. Conceptually, this photo captures the effect of mid conversation in an intimate, attentive, almost private moment of connection. The artist works to document a truth that appears to be spontaneous and yet is is carefully composed and constructed with many apparent choices such as focal point, direction lines, balance and harmony between light and dark. The choice to be directly in front of the sitter, looking directly into their eyes draws the viewer into the conversation, the moment, almost like an invitation. The invitation is a challenging one about bringing homosexuality into the mainstream attention the 1960’s. In terms of artists conceptual practice, it is clear that Arbus was bold and she wanted to shock her audience.
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DECISIVE MOMENT
Henri Cartier Bresson, known as the “father of street photography” founded the term of the “Decisive Moment”. This relates to the perfect timing in which all elements in photography perfectly align at the one moment, where you capture the perfect photography. Every conceptual, technical and intentional aspect of the photograph comes out exactly how the artist wanted. In Diane Arbus’s work “A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966.”, is it clear that Arbus carefully considered the Decisive Moment when shooting. A lot of her works rely on the facial expressions of her subjects to display her intention; not surprisingly so, these facial expressions became one of Arbus’s famous traits as a photographer. In this particular piece, the man’s facial expression is crucial as it is one with interest and curiosity. However, it is not one that displays weakness or embarrassment; rather one with pride, with a touch of arrogance. If Arbus had taken the photograph a millisecond later, the expression might have been lost forever, and created a whole new experience when seeing the photograph.
WORLD
The sixties were a great period of change. Post-war time, being open to new possibilities and accepting of a lot of change was common, especially in New York City. “A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966” was a controversial image at the time when most of the world was still very conservative and homosexuality was still considered to be a sin or a criminal offense. Additionally, the concept of cross-dressing was not understood by the majority of society and many would have viewed this as a sickness or madness. To be at home in curlers was to be a woman or housewife in the conservative times before the 1960’s, yet this image is confronting and disturbing to the audience because it is a photo of a young man. In the world at that time, the juxtaposition of the man and curlers in this photograph was extremely powerful. Diane Arbus was in the right time and the right place, and she got away with it. The modern urban advancement of New York was a place that embraced the new, giving artists permission as the community was willing to witness another perspective on things. This photograph captures an intimate moment, shedding light on deeper issues and anxieties of the society and broadcasts it to a world not ready for it in many ways.
PHOTOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS
“A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966” is one of her most famous photographs and was taken in 1966. It is of a young transvestite man who is wearing hair curlers. He is also wearing makeup on his face and long fake nails to make him look more like a woman. The cigarette held within those fake nailed hands is designed to keep this moment casual, relaxed and momentary. The photograph is a mid-shot of the subject, taken with strong lighting effects. You can see the light from Arbus' camera contrast against the darkness of his pupils, as he stares into the camera. You can see every detail, every imperfection of his pale skin. However, he looks directly at the camera as though he has nothing to hide. Because of her techniques in photography, in the conceptual aspect, the balance between black and white represents the man coming out the shadows and confronting you in the light. He is quite close to the camera and in your face in order to express the honesty of his emotions; that it is okay to be himself and he will not hide or conform.
PURPOSE/INTENTION
It is obvious that Diane Arbus had a clear style when she pursued photography and worked hard to make her images as true to her message as possible. By taking photos of people who were considered unusual or abnormal in that time, brought upon the city of New York an unexplored perspective. She opened the window to people that the public had not had access to ever before. By shedding the light on these hidden people, Arbus motivated and helped to encourage the movement of change in perspective, regarding these groups of people. She wanted to use techniques in photography to confront and challenge the regular person to explore different ways of thinking, in a way that wouldn’t make them hesitate to look twice.
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Mexican Dwarf in his Hotel Room in N.Y.C.
ARTISTS PRACTICE
The material practice of black and white photography suits Arbus’ conceptual practice, she is not only shedding light on the dark and hidden places in the world, she is commenting upon the conservative narrow minded black and white views of society at the time. Her conceptual practice evident in this photograph is to invite the viewer into the private space of a person with dwarfism, not as voyeur to mock or marvel at the difference but to experience as equally human and worthy of respectful understanding.
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The ideas and actions taken by Arbus are thorough and well planned in terms of composition and story. It is as though you have entered the personal world of this small stranger. He looks directly at the camera with a slight uneasy smile. You can see all the lines on his stubby fingers. He appears very close as you can see the details of hairs on his arms and chest. There is a real intimacy in this image as he is not wearing clothes, yet has a towel draped over him, and he is in bed. It feels as though he is resting his stunted foot on your knee as you sit in front of him in his personal space.
DECISIVE MOMENT
Similar to the first photograph, the image of the “Mexican Dwarf in his Hotel Room in N.Y.C.” perfectly demonstrates Arbus’s consideration of the Decisive Moment. The fact that Arbus was capable of highlighting the casualness of the atmosphere proves that without the careful deliberation she put in, the image would have been completely different if she had taken it at any other point in time. However, in contrast to “A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966”, the subject in this image looks very comfortable and friendly. On the other hand, there is an element of awkwardness to his characterisation, as he is completely naked and covered with only a towel; his laid-backness and relaxed position confuses the viewer of his intentions or potential suggestive desires when confronted with his attitude. But these questions would not arise were it not for Arbus’s split-second timing and attentive conceptual eye.
WORLD
The photography of ‘freaks’ was not a new idea, especially in New York, there was a rich history. In the 1870’s to late 1880’s New York photographer Charles Eisenmann became fascinated with circus or side-show attractions such as Jojo the Dog-faced boy and Myrtle Corbin, the four-legged girl. New York was more of a welcoming place for the celebration and exhibition of difference in comparison to that of a conservative world. Almost a century later, Diane Arbus questions her society with their openness to and acceptance of difference. The power of her photography was capturing the closeness and humanness of her subjects. The 1960’s meant Pop art in New York with artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein focussing upon mass media and popular imagery far removed from traditional ‘high’ art. Pop artists celebrated everyday objects and people, elevating popular culture to the level of fine art. With this movement happening around her, Arbus’s reinvention of the ‘freak’ cabinet cards of Eisenmann was timely and significant.
PHOTOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS
"Mexican Dwarf in His Hotel Room in N.Y.C." was taken in 1970. Here, Arbus uses dramatic lighting in her black and white photography. She shows a close-up view of the upper body and face of this extremely small man. Bold lighting hits the centre of the photograph, the man’s shoulder and lead your attention straight to his face, where you are welcomed by his kind eyes. The casualness of his hat and face appear as one would expect. It is only after this initial study of his face that you realise the difference in him as you notice his hands. Directional lines lead your focus to the man’s leaning action against the wall. This is to bring into view the bottle of alcohol, which suggest that you sit and have a drink together with this man. There is a subtle tension in this photo, the man is exposed, yet welcoming and not intimidating. This is achieved with soft, warm, open space between you and him, then shadows behind. Finally, you realise that the whole composition of this frame contains the entire man’s body as his foot is resting in the foreground. This is a comfortable yet intimate space.
PURPOSE/INTENTION
Because of Arbus’s normal-considered childhood and upbringing in a relatively sheltered environment, her adolescence brought her to rebel and to find the truly interesting and atypical aspects of society. At the time and place during Diane Arbus’s thriving career, dwarves weren’t considered regular people, and were placed in circus performances, classed as “freaks”. Expectedly, Arbus was thus drawn to such a group of people. Wanting to allow these groups of people the chance to express themselves and “come out”, Arbus’s works mainly consisted of portraits of these people. Her intention was not to demean or humiliate these subjects when publishing these images, but rather to express to a conservative society that they are missing out on learning about a lot of interesting people, especially when they classify them as not to be socialised with. The expression of this man’s face is so revealing, vulnerable and truthful, that it is almost as if you are not supposed to be looking. Arbus wanted to explore this tension in her work, where she would catch her subjects in positions where they are completely natural and unposed.
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Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City, USA (1962)
ARTIST’S PRACTICE
Arbus, as a street documentary photographer uses her material practice of black and white photography to tell a multi-layered story. She composes her image carefully, by disguising her clever ideas and actions with playful fun. Conceptually, Arbus is looking for something different, she was most likely looking at this skinny boy like one would look at the images of freak skeleton men in circus sideshows. She allows for a great amount of space to ensure us, the viewer, that the boy is safe, we understands where he is and that he is not vulnerable or in danger. This safety provides comfort to explore the element of play, yet there is a tension between the innocence of childhood and the suggestion of war through the expressions of the child and his toy (grenade).
DECISIVE MOMENT
Though there is no denial in question of Diane Arbus’s impressive skills with capturing a photograph, she doesn’t necessarily take the perfect one on the first try. With this image, Arbus took many photos of the boy, and explored many different shots, to try and get the perfect picture. She plays and interacts with the boy, trying to find the right angle and pose. The contact sheet below is revealing in terms of Arbus' artist practice and finding the decisive moment. Colin Wood, the subject of this series, later reflects on the experience saying that during that period of time, he was going through “a general feeling of loneliness, a sense of being abandoned”, however, upon meeting Arbus, he felt that “she saw that and it’s like… commiseration... And I think that’s how she felt about herself.” Is it a coincidence that her subject had been through a difficult time recently, and she had just decided to photograph this particular boy? Possibly, it was a spiritual connection between Arbus and Wood that brought her to take these photographs? It is clear through the series that the two had enjoyed their day in the park and that Arbus was able to perfectly capture the essence of their newfound companionship.
WORLD
What at first appeared to be an innocent picture of a knobbly kneed boy playing around in the park in 1962, became an intense documentary image of discomfort within American society facing the Vietnam war. The boy holds a toy grenade with one hand, a tense claw formed by the other and a maniacal grimace on his face. This image doesn’t glorify war, but suggests the tension and anxiety for the next generation to bear. Perhaps a comment upon the teachings of the younger generation, regarding foreign affairs?
PHOTOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS
The sequence of images show an ordinary yet quite skinny boy who is playing and posing for the camera. In the chosen image Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City, USA (1962) there is a concentration on a freakish extreme posture. The expression on Colin Wood’s face is one of anger and hostility, something rarely explored in children photography, which makes it even more striking and frightening. The compilation of the toy grenade, the boy’s tense body language, his drooping strap and the manic facial expression creates an atmosphere of fear and sympathy for this disturbed child.
There are clearly many vectors in this image, from the trunks of the trees in the background, the side of the pathway and the casts of shadows on the ground from the foliage above the park. The camera is at eye level with the child, which prompts for more focus on the child, and makes the image more personal and connected to the viewer. The strong contrasts surrounding the boy in the foreground add to the distance between him and the background, which is blurred and brightly lit; almost faded. When applying the rule of thirds to this image, we can see that Wood is very near central, in order for the viewer’s eye to be instantly drawn to him. In the top right-hand corner, we can only just see the faded resemblance of a family observing the situation, and would soon encounter Arbus and Wood as they walk down the path. The two trees, that are behind the boy, extend the sense of depth and height in the image, giving context to the size of the child. It is almost as if the trees are standing even taller, in order to comment upon their natural strength in comparison to the boy’s manufactured weapon he grips so tightly.
PURPOSE/INTENTION
In contrast to many of her other works, the subject of this series wasn’t considered a social pariah in any aspect. In fact, as proven by the contact sheet, many of the images were posed and unnatural, and don’t display the fact that he was a regular young boy in New York. However, to abide by her unique style and not conform to simple portraiture photography, Arbus’s decision to use the first image on the contact sheet, shows that she is looking for more than just a nice setting or nice composure, but rather an image that provokes further questioning through her portfolio.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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http://www.manythings.org/voa/people/Diane_Arbus.html
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-fresh-look-at-diane-arbus-99861134/?no-ist
http://www.atgetphotography.com/The-Photographers/Diane-Arbus.html
http://www.annedarlingphotography.com/diane-arbus-photographs.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Arbus
http://www.biography.com/people/diane-arbus-9187461#synopsis
http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/12400/30-quotes-by-photographer-diane-arbus/
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/arbus-diane
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/arbus-speaks
http://www.biography.com/people/diane-arbus-9187461#suicide
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-fresh-look-at-diane-arbus-99861134/?no-ist=&page=5
http://www.cvltnation.com/the-freak-photography-of-chas-eisenmann/
http://rachelsvisualdiary.blogspot.com.au/2010/03/diane-arbus-child-with-toy-hand-grenade.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2001.474/
http://www.photography-news.com/2011/03/in-photos-remembering-diane-arbus-and.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_with_Toy_Hand_Grenade_in_Central_Park
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