Topic Entry #13

4-16-09

Deadpan Photography

"Engaging yet ambiguous, deadpan photography provides a refuge from emotion in a time of worry" - Greg Cook





Cook, Greg; "Here's Looking at You"; http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/11/04/heres_looking_at_you/


This article talks about the rise of deadpan photography in contemporary art. He writes about Claire Beckett, who says that her deadpan asthetic came about from her use of a medium format. She says that with the time it takes to set up the camera and get the positioning right, the subject has warn off the nervous feelings and becomes in a neutral state. He describes deadpan as cool, matter of fact, detached imagery.

The deadpan asthetic has come up in my work; also I think because of my use of a medium format camera. However, I did want to produce some of the imagery very straight forward, with the subject left completely as is. I used this asthetic more with objects and spaces rather than people. I felt that the spaces needed to be read exactly how they were, untouched, because of the stories they produce by just being looked at.