Taylor Owen- Style Writing

Joel-Peter Witkin is an American photographer from New Mexico. He photographs in a contemporary style with a twin-lens 1960’s camera with film rolls. Witkin tries to stray away from using computers to edit his photograph and instead uses traditional methods where he tones and bleaches the negatives before developing. The majority of his works are still-life’s and are black and white. He is considered one of the most controversial photographers of all time due to his frequent use of cadavers, deformed people, intersex people, and overall theme of death in his photographs. He also likes to reference paintings and religion in a majority of his photographs. His photos are all staged and thoroughly thought out, as he only photographs 12 scenes per year. When Witkin was a child, his parents got a divorce which mentally affected him. Around the same time, he saw a young girl get decapitated in a car accident. He has said this event as well as the emotional turmoil of his parents divorce is what inspired his photography style. He makes photographs to show people how he sees the world and what is inside of him. Morality is also a central theme of his works. Many do not like his work and find it gruesome and repulsive, however I enjoy his work very much as it is almost like a painting to me. I also enjoy how each piece is very thought out and intricate. It makes you think about life in an unusual, uncomfortable way.

Nan Goldin is an American photographer from Boston, Massachusetts. She has a contemporary style and photographs with film as well as digital equipment. Her photographs are taken mainly in New York during the postmodern era and has a contemporary style. Most of her work features elements of the LGBT community, drugs, sexuality, male gaze, and domestic violence. She first started photograph after he sister committed suicide. She saw photography as a way of connecting with those she loved and documenting her memories with them. Many of the people in her photographs had died by the 1990’s due to drugs or AIDS. Her photographs are a way of remembering them. She later realized that her photos can be used as a tool to inform people of the issues in America. Goldin mainly photographs people and places in New York. Her photos are taken with a snapshot aesthetic where scenes are not staged. This allows for a very natural feel to the photos. Her most known work is that in her book The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. It is presented as a slideshow with two screens, one photo will come on one screen and then the other on the next and this continues until the presentation is over. This was done so that the photographs can be seen as a journal, reinforcing the reason for why she photographs. I enjoy looking at Goldin’s photos very much. I like that she utilized the lower east side of Manhattan in The Ballad of Sexual Dependency at the time to bring certain social issues forward to viewers. 

Henry Wessel is an American Photographer originally from New Jersey. He photographed landscapes and architecture in the West of America, mainly in California. He photographed here due to the natural lighting available. This light became a central feature of his work. He used only one camera throughout his entire career: a Leica 35 mm camera with a 28 mm wide-angle lens and Kodak Tri-X film. Wessel’s style is contemporary, photographing from the post-modern era until his death in September. His photos are mainly in black and white and often utilize shapes and shadows to make the photographs more interesting. He liked to use nature and the built environment to create juxtaposition within a photograph. His photos are said to have captured the irony of American life. Even though many of his images are simple and do not seem very deep there is meaning and purpose to each one. Wessel once said, “The process of photographing is a pleasure: eyes open, receptive, sensing, and at some point, connecting. It’s thrilling to be outside your mind, your eyes far ahead of your thoughts.” This is what motivated him to photograph. Even though I don’t like landscape and architectural photography very much, I really enjoyed the photos in Henry Wessel’s book Odd Photos. In this series, he would have a photograph of nature or the built environment, however there would be something strange and unusual in each photo. Each photo draws you in and makes you think about why he decided to photograph what he did.