Francesca Woodman
Francesca Woodman was an American photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring either herself or female models. Many of her photographs show women, naked or clothed, blurred (due to movement and long exposure times), merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured. Her work continues to be the subject of much positive critical attention, years after her death at the age of 22, in 1981. Woodman produced over 800 untitled prints. Influenced by Surrealism and Conceptual Art, her work often featured recurring symbolic motifs such as birds, mirrors, and skulls. The artist’s exploration of sexuality and the body is often compared to both Hans Bellmer and Man Ray.
'Am I in the picture? Am I getting in or out of it? I could be a ghost, an animal or a dead body, not just this girl standing on the corner …?' - Francesca Woodman
These photographs are from a series that were taken in Rhode Island. Woodman uses a long exposure and bleak surroundings to create conceptual images. Both images are in square format which isolates and confines the space, they are also in monochrome to highlight the figures. Woodman has used herself as the model, she is wearing a dark dress and knee high boots to emphasise the movement of the figure making the photographs look eerie. The surroundings show an empty interior space with bare white walls, this contrasts with Woodman's dark clothing. In the right side of the image there is a window where the light enters. The figure in the left side of the image is lunging forward, it is facing away from the camera with bent knees, a hunched back and arms stretched out moving towards the window. The figure is also blurred and manipulated due to the use of a slow shutter speed which creates a creature like silhouette. The only part in focus is the feet that brings us back to reality. The body is blurred from the ankles upwards which distorts the rest of her body. I really like this image as the figure is extremely surreal which takes away it's identity. The mood is also very bleak which adds to the mystery of the blurred figure. In the second image, a large door free of its frame is balanced against the wall which creates a strong diagonal line within the composition. The door challenges the concept of space as it distorts the room. Woodman is the model in this image, she placed herself directly under the door, almost trapping herself. She lays on her left side with her knees bent, which is the fetal position, it's as if she is shielding herself from the outside world. On the floor there is a dark shadow surrounding her figure, this adds to the dark mood of the image. The rest of the space is bare with worn walls and bits of rubble. I was drawn to this image as I found it interesting how it challenges space as well as portraying the feeling of being trapped and isolated. I decided to explore the works of Woodman as inspiration for our brief Islander. By looking at her work it has shown me how the lighting can change the complete mood of an image as well as the composition and position of the figure.
Space², 1976, Untitled, 1976
