American
photographer Francesca Woodman has eighteen rare vintage black and white
photographs in the Artist Rooms display, from a collection once owned by the
artist’s boyfriend. Woodman’s photographs exhibit many influences, from
symbolism and surrealism to fashion photography and Baroque painting. They have
a timeless quality that is ethereal and unique. The artist began taking
photographs at the age of thirteen and though she was only twenty two when she
took her own life, she left behind a substantial body of work.
Francesca Woodman’s photographs explore issues of gender and self, looking at the representation of the body in relation to its surroundings. She puts herself in the frame most often, although these are not conventional self-portraits as she is either partially hidden, or concealed by slow exposures that blur her moving figure into a ghostly presence. This underlying vulnerability is further emphasised by the small and intimate format of the photographs.
We often see her in otherwise deserted interior spaces, where her body seems to merge with its surroundings, covered by sections of peeling wallpaper, half hidden behind the flat plane of a door, or crouching over a mirror. Found objects and suggestive props are carefully placed to create unsettling, surreal or claustrophobic scenarios. Her photographs are produced in thematic series’, relating to specific props, places or situations.
Francesca Woodman’s photographs explore issues of gender and self, looking at the representation of the body in relation to its surroundings. She puts herself in the frame most often, although these are not conventional self-portraits as she is either partially hidden, or concealed by slow exposures that blur her moving figure into a ghostly presence. This underlying vulnerability is further emphasised by the small and intimate format of the photographs.
We often see her in otherwise deserted interior spaces, where her body seems to merge with its surroundings, covered by sections of peeling wallpaper, half hidden behind the flat plane of a door, or crouching over a mirror. Found objects and suggestive props are carefully placed to create unsettling, surreal or claustrophobic scenarios. Her photographs are produced in thematic series’, relating to specific props, places or situations.
Woodman was exposed
to the symbolic work of Max Klinger whilst studying in Rome from 1977-78 and
his influence can clearly be seen in many photographic series’, such as Eel
Series, Roma (1977-78) and Angel Series, Roma (1977). In combining
performance, play and self-exposure, Woodman’s photographs create extreme and
often disturbing psychological states. In concealing or encrypting her subjects
she reminds the viewer that photographs flatten and distort, never offering the
whole truth about a subject.
when i have gotten shown her work i was really inspired by her, after knowing a little bit of her background story i was even more inspired by her work. As the photographs were portraits i was intrigued on how she did them as she had done these images on film. my guesses are she put the camrea on timer or set the whole thing up and asked someone to take the photos, knowing her background story (she committed suicide) which makes these images even stronger... when i look at these images i see she loved using corners, i think she was expressing herself feeling cornered up. and i love how she makes it seem like shes at abounded places, with no valuables like she has nothing. which backs up the depression. I feel like she was trying to show her motion through pictures, even though we know who she is, it looked like she tried making these pictures very anonymous.
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