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Lisette Model
This volume - investigating the work of a particular photographer, in this case, Lisette Model - comprises a 4000-word essay by an expert in the field, 55 photographs presented chronologically, each with a commentary, and a biography of the featured photographer.
- GenresPhotographyArt
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2001
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May 25, 2016
I'm not always crazy about the accompanying text (words like "monumental" are overused), but I am intrigued by the photographs, and by the philosophy of Lisette Model.
The photographs themselves are unusual. They seem casual without seeming accidental, if that makes any sense. And that's all due to Model's philosophy of photography - that as much of the artistry happens after the photograph is taken as is involved in the moment of exposure. That the artist can be impulsive and fully in the moment as the photo is taken, and then can take the time to refine the image in the darkroom. I've been looking at a lot of Vivian Maier's photographs lately, and she is precisely the opposite: take a photograph, done. So many of her photos were never even printed. It's discouraging too, well, at least to me, that such impressive images can be created in the moment like that. So it's really refreshing to see beautiful, compelling photographs by a photographer who believed in cropping, tilting the negative, burning, dodging, etc. It gives me permission, in a way, to get into photoshop and freely crop my image to focus on the most interesting piece. To shift the horizontal line and change the mood. To lighten or darken as necessary, or just because it makes the image interesting. It doesn't always have to be about a concrete image. Photographs are more than just exact representation or photojournalism.
Oh, and Model was Diane Arbus' teacher. So she was obviously doing some things right.
The photographs themselves are unusual. They seem casual without seeming accidental, if that makes any sense. And that's all due to Model's philosophy of photography - that as much of the artistry happens after the photograph is taken as is involved in the moment of exposure. That the artist can be impulsive and fully in the moment as the photo is taken, and then can take the time to refine the image in the darkroom. I've been looking at a lot of Vivian Maier's photographs lately, and she is precisely the opposite: take a photograph, done. So many of her photos were never even printed. It's discouraging too, well, at least to me, that such impressive images can be created in the moment like that. So it's really refreshing to see beautiful, compelling photographs by a photographer who believed in cropping, tilting the negative, burning, dodging, etc. It gives me permission, in a way, to get into photoshop and freely crop my image to focus on the most interesting piece. To shift the horizontal line and change the mood. To lighten or darken as necessary, or just because it makes the image interesting. It doesn't always have to be about a concrete image. Photographs are more than just exact representation or photojournalism.
Oh, and Model was Diane Arbus' teacher. So she was obviously doing some things right.
Displaying 1 of 1 review