I found out about Ira Cohen while researching recently deceased artists online. He was an American photographer and poet. Most of his images that I found had a sinister feeling to them which I enjoyed because they were images of celebrities (Jimi Hendrix and tons of fashion models). Shining an ominous light on those blessed with beauty, fame and fortune belittles them and deters audiences from dreaming of celebrity. The normal life is more common and yet less celebrated. Not that I don't enjoy beauty and being financially stable, but seeing it in a different light makes you think about the sides of those worlds that we perhaps never get to interpret for. I really liked that Cohen's work is so psychedelic and experimental. He uses weird reflections, water like warping, and collage-like layering effects. I get the feeling that he explored "beautiful mistakes" quite a lot. After all, he was alive during the 60's. Here are some examples.
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Yelena Yemchuk is a Ukrainian photographer, painter, and film director known best for her work with the band Smashing Pumpkins. However it is her personal work that I enjoy the most. I love her series called "Project I". It exemplifies what I would consider the modern day, typical feminine portrait. The photographs are filled with longing, softness, powerful gazes, and the comfort of touch. It's hard not to empathize and yearn with the models. Their beauty seems unreal, as though we were looking at snapshot of a dream.
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If you're really into high-end fashion you've definitely seen some of Txema Yeste's work. His portfolio is filled with photographs done for well known fashion magazines such as Harpers Bazaar, Mixte, and Tush. Images of his are sleek, glossy, immaculate, and everything else you would expect from the fashion world. I like the way he chooses to frame things and involve the model with his camera. There's a sexual tension in nearly every photograph that I can find that he's done. Then again, that's what the fashion industry wants for most advertising images. He started out as a reporter, but studied photography while growing up in Spain. I enjoy his work because of the technical aspects. His images don't come off as flawless for no reason. There is a ton of work behind every image that I don't understand yet, and that makes me realize how much more I have to learn.
I like Ira Cohen's photographs, especially the distorded ones of Jimi hendrix & that woman's body! It plays with forms and our sense of perception. It's unusual and makes me wonder about the places where the pictures were taken, what the subjects doing, what material Cohen used, etc. The top black and white one is very interesting as well. The blurry contour makes in kind of more intimate, as if he was "stealing" the picture (im not sure of the term....), yet the subject (he or she?) is looking straight at the camera. It feels like he's giving an inner view into someone's life.
ReplyDeleteTxema Yeste's images are great. I love the hard, industrial look to the ones you posted. So much of today's fashion photography is about these sort of whimsical fantasy worlds but these appear almost confrontational in composition. The harsh lighting, stark contrasts and sharp lines really keep my gaze long after the initial scroll by.
ReplyDeleteThe first Ira Cohen picture intrigued me the most. Rather than rely on distortion techniques or color, he chose to embody a more raw/unpolished aesthetic. The model reminds me of a more demure female Nosferatu. She appears a derelict, yet poised and even glamourous. Perhaps she was a "beautiful mistake" as mentioned above, a being that doesn't necessarily exude beauty from the get-go, but rather slowly draws the viewer's attention with mysteriousness.
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