Master: Diane Arbus

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I learn a lot from studying the "Masters" and want to share this lady with you. What better way to critique your own work than to view the works of those on possibly different planets than us!

Diane Arbus used a square format. The negative is about 2.25x2.25 (please correct me if I am wrong) and the square format is probably the most difficult in the world to frame. The very format does not lend itself to the rule of nines or 1/3-2/3 composition so she had to bend the rules on every shot. She made her start in magazine photography and became a "Master" during the Vietnam War era. A good site is: http://www.temple.edu/photo/photogra...rbus/arbus.htm but you can get hundreds of "hits" from any search engine.

Please don't miss her quote about "freaks". It makes me smile and look at my petty problems differently. Diane Arbus took her own life in 1971 but left a message in her images that will never die.

[Leighow]

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Interesting format and photos. The format worked well in the early photo ( I hate to back check the album in case I lose my way in this reply) of the family of four.

I worked in NJ in 1964, listened to “Shep” long into the evening, and made frequent trips to NYC in my 93 Beetle. So, let me fess up. I liked the Girl in the shiny dress !

Times have changed since the 60's. Those of us blessed with good family health, are much more aware and appreciative of those who drew a weaker hand. Today, in our office we employ many aristocrats. They are a joy.

HOWIE

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HOWIE,

Your reply is VERY much appreciated just now. Ever catch on fire with something only to feel nobody else feels the heat? Then you start second guessing your own senses.

I wish I had known the lady. A cup of coffee would have probably lasted hours and I would not have been the same person the next day after our conversation. She knew what she wanted to photograph and what she wanted to say. Maybe we still have some of the sixties left in us after all.

Thanks, Howie.

[eland]

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I don't know if your still look at this piece on Diane Arbus that you posted last June.
I wanted to thank you for writing it. Like you I am an admirer of her work. Some of it was almost grotesque
and the fact that she recorded these images so
"front on" and dispassionately just adds to their power.

Most of the images on the site that you kindly provided are just off square, being about a centimeter longer in one direction than the other, on my screen. I believe that she used a Rolleiflex for much of her work. If you look you will notice that most images appear to have been taken from waist level.
Thank you for the web address. She was one of the greats. Her subjects were often off-beat and depressing.
One wonders if it was depression that led her to take her own life. Do you know ?

eland

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eland,

Almost missed your post; been away for tax preparation a few days.

Interesting about the Rolleiflex, I believe you're right. An instructor of mine had an appointment to meet her that took over a year to arrange. She died three days before the appointment. He said general speculation at the time as to the reason for her suicide was depression over the Vietnam war and her unwillingness to stay in a world where such a war could exist. These were, however, speculations because nobody saw it coming or could have believed it possible. Like all suicides, the victim is the only one who receives a correct answer to the question "why?", and they don't receive it until they are gone.

Thanks for responding.