From left: photographs by:Izima Kaoru, Joel Peter Witkin, and Guy Bourdin.
Actual death or merely the depiction of death has always been closely associated with photography. As early as 1839Hippolyte Bayard photographed a self portrait as a drowned man. And in the 19th century it was common practice to take portraits of family members after they have died. Sometimes living family members were photographed posing with the recent dead. Nowadays it is no longer a common practice to photograph the dead however, that doesn't mean that the depiction of death isn't still deeply infused in photography today. Now we see the depiction of death a lot in fashion photography, for example Guy Bourdin shot most of the ad campaigns he did for Charles Jourdan shoes using pictures of women who had been killed by crimes of passion. Joel Peter Witkin frequently uses dead corpses and body parts in his still lifes. Death is still a common factor in photography today because death is fascinating and scary. People are scared of the unknown and death is still one of those areas that are still unknown. Along with the work of Guy Bourdin and Joel Peter Witkin I found some interesting death in fashion photography by a photographer named Izima Kaoru. I think death will always be closely associated with art and photography, although how it is associated may change with the times. It may not always be used so frequently in fashion photography.
The first image I have posted is the anime drawing of a female in a catholic school girl outfit. It is obviously meant to be suggestive by the way the angle of the picture leads the viewer right up her leg and under her skirt, and yet the girl is dressed very childlike. what is also strange to me is the entire culture of sexual cartoons when cartoons are intened for kids right? The next two images I chose are clips from one of Britney Spears first music videos. Once again we can see the catholic school girl outfit. So she dances very suggestively and bares her midriff and yet has pigtails and fluffy hair ties in her hair. The last images I posted are from a magazine spread and although I am not sure they are examples of infantilizatin they are very bizarre and I thought worth sharing. I am not sure what the message trying to be portrayed here is but it is strange nontheless.
t I like about Cope's work is the sense of mystery and intrigue. I also like that he has a very wide range of work. The lighting and colors are extremely beautiful as well. I think this artist's photography is awesome because it inspires me to be a better photographer.
