Joel-Peter Witkin • 1984 • Portrait of Nan New Mexico
I think his work is interesting for a number of reasons. He has a classic compositional style in the way he positions his figures in a scene. He alludes to historical and important art works in many of his photos. Yet where is work grabs me is on a more base, sex and death level. There is a type of voodoo vibe in the ritualistic object placement in his scenes. Sex and death, the beginning and the end. Where these two points meet, the macabre, the fantastic, the archetypes of mythologies emerge. His use of grainy greyscale and sepia tones seem to evoke a primitive tracing back to an echo of our deeper, primordial mind, where dreams and nightmares merge. We may be disturbed but we are compelled to look.
To be honest, this is the first i've heard of him. I will say as soon as a saw his images i was reminded of a music video by NIN. After a little research, i found out that Joel-Peter Witken had a major influence on the director of the video which blew a lot of people away in 1994. If your interested here it is.
I really appreciate you posting the video as well! I loved making the connection myself, Thanks!:) I find his work disturbing but I am intrigued and would love to know more on his though process.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting Michelle! He was raised by a catholic mother and jewish father. I think he was exposed to the symbols & rituals of the catholic church early. In sense he turns the catholic rituals around a looks at it's reverse, darker side (or maybe just another side of looking and dealing with death), in particular, the body or flesh. The accident he witnessed, as a child, of the decapitated head must have had a profound influence on him, not only form the event itself, but probably all the attention after the event. Although, this is pure speculation by me.
DeleteI chose Witkin as well. The style of this video almost reminds me of the style Die Antwoord's video's are done in. But their director is Roger Ballen.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting Cory. I watched your Video and I noticed that she is frying the same bug as the "closer" video, probably as a tip of the hat gesture. I agree there are similarities in the style. Here is a website i found the draws comparison from joel-peter witken to the "closer" video. http://www.nachtkabarett.com/nin/closer
DeleteGreat discussion here! Thanks for looking into Witkin and relating it to other work you already know!
ReplyDeleteCory - The connection to Roger Ballen is a good, and interesting one. Both photographers are very interested in the aesthetic compositions of their photographs. His book Boarding House is really interesting.
Thanks!