Diane Arbus as One of the Greatest Photographers of the 21st Century - Case Study Example

Photographs Photographs have for a long time been used to communicate to people. Photographs have been used to pass message across since 1825, when the photography was invented (Gross 3). Since then, the use of photographs for communication has gained popularity among artists. In fact, it is often said that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Although there are many photographers who have made significant achievements in terms of photography, Diane Arbus happens to be among the most successful photographers of the century. She is credited for having made several outstanding portraits which people can relate. Her abnormal approach to photography is the most outstanding thing about her portraits. It is noted that she was heavily criticized for approaching her photography abnormally. However, she did not allow the negative criticism she received from her destructors to compromise her creativity and approach to photography. Instead, the criticisms only motivated her to be more creative in her approaches to photography. Another photographer who has won the hearts of many through her portraits is Annie Leibovitz. Leibovitz has also produced many photographs that can be found in museums across the country. However, what becomes apparent is that her approach to photography was totally different from the Arbus approach. Unlike Arbus, who approached her photography in an abnormal way, Leibovitz approached photography in a mainstream manner. This paper will compare and contrast Arbus achievements and approaches to photography with Annie Leibovitz. The paper will also provide reasons why Arbus portraits were successful. Diane Arbus is one of the greatest photographers of the 21st century. She was born in 1923 and died in 1971 after committing suicide (Gross 8). Although Arbus has died, she left a strong legacy in the field of photography. A closer look at the photographs she too while still alive speaks volume of who she was. She earned credit from the hearts of many since he photographs often depicted the members of the society, something that was abnormal from the approached that other photographers used at the time. In fact, her abnormal approach to photography created discomfort among some viewers of the 1950s and 1960s who were not used to her photographic style (Gross 13). In the words of Sontag (26), “The Arbus photographs convey the anti-humanist message which people of good will in the 1970s are eager to be troubled by, just as they wished, in the 1950s, to be consoled and distracted by a sentimental humanism”. Essentially, Sontag highlighted the fact that Arbus’ photos fractured the unity that Whitman and his compatriots sought to create of humanity by fragmenting it in a manner as to create isolated portions of anxiety. Although she seemed to ruffle feathers in this way, she strongly emerged as a force to reckon with, bringing to light the realities of the day to a people who preferred to assume that all was well. The most outstanding style that Arbus used in her photography is that shot her photographs at a close proximity to the person being photographed as can be seen from figure 1. This was a very remarkable approach to photography at the time considering that other photographers took their photos from a long distance. In this respect, she managed to win the hearts of viewers by violating the implied "polite distance" by drawing as close as possible to people to ensure that they get the best shot. Although some viewers criticized her abnormal style to photography, the style earned her a lot of recognition from the public since she was able to bring out unique photographs, which people were not used in the 1950s and 60s. Fig. 1: Photo of a crying child by Arbus Courtesy of malihayakub.blogspot.com Apart from just taking photographs of people, Arbus was exceptional in photography since she was able to add some amount of psychology into the pictures she shot (Gross 19). This gave the viewers the urge to look for the picture repeatedly and deeply. This earned her reputation since she was the only photographer at the time with the ability to add some psychology to the picture. The "freak" is one such photograph where Arbus injected psychology to make the photo attractive and appealing to look at. Another notable style adopted by Arbus is that she was good at street photography, which was not common at the time (Gross 23). Unlike other photographers at the time, Arbus would courageously approached a stranger in the street and got their best shot. This style was unique in that Arbus was the first photographer to introduce the concept of street photography. She managed to shoot many photos of strangers in the street, such as the "grenade kid," which won the hearts of many people and other photographers, as well. In the picture, a young boy who appears oblivious of the events around him at the time his photo was being taken is featured holding a toy hand grenade (Gross 24). The picture is featured in figure 2. Some of her other memorable photographs include the retired man and his wife at home, 1963 and the twins, 1967. Essentially the photographer often sought to bring to focus the “"miserable consciousness" of marginalized people who willingly submitted to her camera (26). Fig. 2: Photo of young boy holding toy grenade by Arbus Courtesy of jeremylopez1.wordpress.com Annie Leibovitz is another renowned photographer whose photographs have influenced many other photographers. She was born in 1949 and emerged as among the greatest photographers of the 21st century. In fact, she happens to the best-paid photographer. However, unlike Arbus, who adopted abnormal photographic approach, Leibovitz adopted a mainstream approach to photography. She also adopted a crisp and lighted photographic style, which later emerged as her signature style (Lambert 3). Another difference that distinguished Leibovitz from Arbus is that, whereas Arbus focused on street photography, Leibovitz focused on taking photographs of celebrities. The other distinguishing feature of Arbus and Leibovitzs photographs is that, whereas Arbus took photographs at close proximity to the person, Leibovitz abided by the mainstream photographic style of the time by keeping distance while taking a photo. Although the two photographers were great in their own rights, Arbus earned more fame than Leibovitz. A closer analysis shows that Arbus portraits won enormous critical and popular success because she deviated from the mainstream style of photography that people were used to in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of her portraits were also those which people can relate to. For instance, in most cases, Arbus would move to streets and take pictures of people in the street which reflects the reality in the society. As stated by Sontag (27), “You see someone on the street,” Arbus wrote, “and essentially” what you notice about them is the flaw.” From this statement, it is clear that Arbus had a keener eye for the flaws that characterized the society in which she lived and she perhaps did what she could to challenge the status quo by communicating through images. Above all, she was successful because, unlike other photographers, Arbus was able to inject some psychology into her portraits something that made her portraits unique and attractive to look at. As noted by Sontag (43), her works were a reaction against the manners and good taste of the bourgeois. In conclusion, there is no doubt that Arbus is among the greatest photographers of the 21st century. Although some viewers criticized her style of photography, I strongly believe that she deserved the accolades accorded her. This is because she was able not only to deviate from the photographic norms of her time, but also focused on street photography, which people could relate. Additionally, she deserved the accolade because, unlike other photographers who took pictures at distance, Arbus was able to take his pictures at close range, ensured that he produced outstanding pictures. Works Cited Gross, Frederick. Diane Arbuss 1960s: Auguries of experience. Minneapolis, MN: U of Minnesota Press. Print. Lambert, Angela. “Talking pictures with Annie Leibovitz: From Jagger to Trump, she summed up the Seventies and Eighties. Her latest subject is Sarajevo. As a new show opens in London, the photographer talks to Angela Lambert.” The Independent, 06 October 2014: 3. Print. Sontag, Susan. On Photography – "America, Seen through Photographs Darkly". New York. Rosseta Books. 2005. Print. 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