Portraiture - Andres Serrano

The third artist i am writing about is Andres Serrano. I have chosen this image as it stood out to me because of the appearance of it as it looks like a painting because of the background and look of the subject. I think Andres is a type of photographer were you either like his work or you don't because of the contents of some of his work. However for this piece I like the shading on the cheek and neck and how the face isn't just simply looking at the camera, her head is facing sideways and her eyes look to the camera creating a connection.

Photo by Andres Serrano, found on the site below
http://www.e-flux.com/announcements/andres-serrano-at-chac-mool-gallery/

Portraiture - Thomas Ruff

For my second artist I have chosen to look at is Thomas Ruff, who is known to take portraits in the style that they remind you of passports. The image below is a typical portrait shot for Thomas Ruff. On the face there is no expression, it is just blank and the framing is quite standard as well and matches his others, where there is either only a small space at the top or the head is slightly cut off and cropped just below the shoulders. Like his other portraits, it's a white, somewhat grey-ish background. I'm undecided whether I like his images as I'm not sure if I like the style, I don't think he quite captures who the person is as their photos are all taken in the same way and have the same look. However this may be what he wanted, to create a body of work and to suggest that we are all the same in some way, all human.

Found the image below on this site. Photographer Thomas Ruff.
 http://www.americansuburbx.com/2009/05/theory-daniel-birnbaum-on-thomas-ruff.html

Portraiture - Malick Sidibe

The first artist I have looked at photographs in a documentry style and in black and white, he focusses on everyday life from things such as ordinary people of all ages to sports events and night clubs and concerts. His work is known to be of popular culture in the 1960s.


I chose this because I like how the white clothes stand out against the dark background, therefore capturing your eye quite suddenly. As you begin to look closely and study the image you notice that even though they aren't touching their heads are both tilted downwards leaning close together, giving the image some intimicy. Withing the image also you can see Malick has caught a moment between these two people. They are dancing, having fun, enjoying the moment, you can see the happiness and energy.

Malick Sidibe - One nation under a groove.










Found on this website below.
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/feb/27/malick-sidibe-mali-photographs-interview