“You Are Your Work”
December 16th, 2009Monday marked the last session of my workshop with Ken Merfeld. When looking at the body of work I’ve completed during the last 9 weeks, there was a definite mood…my recent portraits seem to all have a subtle quiet, melancholy mood with an underlying intensity – much like my recent self (as those who know me well can attest to). Ken remarked that the first body of work he ever saw from me (which was my food series) was much more playful, upbeat, and quirky…which makes complete sense as that body of work was completed prior to the accident that left me immobilized last winter (my “colourful” period). Since then, in dealing with the repercussions of the accidents of the last 12 months, my mood has switched from playful to more introspective. Until viewing my recent work as a body of work, I didn’t realize how much of myself I put into my portraits…and every portrait I take is, in essence, a self-portrait.
“My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph” – Richard Avedon
One of the last workshop assignments was to take a portrait of someone who has their back to you. This is what I came up with – it’s probably the piece I’m most proud of from the last 8 weeks. It’s titled “(I Have Seen You Through) Various States of Madness”
“In a portrait, I’m looking for the silence in somebody” – Henri-Cartier Bresson
Beautifully said. So what's next?
Wow, Ang, your recent work is blowing me away…