the environmental portrait photo by carlos rios, houston chronicle
TRANSCRIPT
The Environmental Portrait
Photo by Carlos Rios, Houston Chronicle
Richard Avedon was a legendary fashion photographer and portrait artist. His character studies of celebrities benefited greatly from his trademark style of placing them in front of a plain white background. By forcing the viewer to consider only the face, and perhaps the body language of his subjects, Avedon would insinuate an elevated status upon his subjects . . .
Truman Capote
With “In The American West,” Avedon adapted the same style of portraiture to a large collection of
everyday folks. While he may have considered this a brand of
photojournalism, some have argued against its effectiveness, questioning the work’s honesty.
Without the context of their surroundings, the subjects of
American West appear as bugs under a microscope. The blank,
seamless background thrusts the figures forward as islands of
textures of flesh and cloth. There is nothing else to explain their
often tawdry appearances.
In Martin Rogovin’s book The Forgotten Ones, he included a series of environmental portraits of men at work and at home . . .
Photo by Martin Rogovin, 1973.
Henri Matisse in Venice, 1944. Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
From Bruce Davidson’s East 100th St. project.
Diane Arbus made a career of the environmental
portrait, with her intimate portrayals of those she
referred to as “the aristocrats of society.”
Others characterized her subjects (which included
dwarfs, transsexuals, nudists, strippers, and
mentally-challenged eccentrics) as “freaks.”
Mae West with her pet monkey, by Diane Arbus
Flute-playing Indio with Llama, 1933. Photo by Martin Chambi
ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAITS by David Blumenkrantz
Watts, South-Central Los Angeles
Parent volunteer Gloria Clairborne and her sons Dashawan, 14, and Darrin, 11, at the Foshay Learning Center, South-Central Los Angeles.
Malcolm Jordan, candidate for Los Angeles District Attorney, in front of the Criminal Court building.
Violinist, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Pregnant actress, in the dressing room of a small theater, Burbank.
Owner of a trendy Hollywood restaurant.
Editor of the Korea Times, in the Los Angeles newsroom.
In 1975, Jeff Burroughs was the American League’s Most Valuable Player. Twenty years later, he was the manager of a minor league team in Long Beach.
Teenage runaways, Santa Monica.
Skid Row, downtown Los Angeles.