Flourishing with his photography in the 1960’s, an era
mostly influenced by photojournalism, Duane Michals manipulated his imagery in
a cinematic format to create narratives rather than illustrating reality at the
time. Michals is an American photographer who is know for his creative usage of
multiple exposures, photo sequences and his integration of text in his work to
add to the emotion of the the imagery versus being informative. When this
photographer was first introduced to me, what I found to be the most alluring
were his photo sequences and how Michals’ work seems to blur the lines between
photography and philosophy. Rather than paying attention to the aesthetic of
his work, he focuses on how the imagery makes the viewer feel and manages to
bring them into his narratives in a deeper level.
Duane
Michals has two sequences that I found very intriguing and similar to each other,
Grandpa Goes to Heaven and The Fallen Angel. Although both
sequences have a similar theme of angels, the emotions that come forth and the
actual situation are different. In the first series of the grandfather passing
away we as the viewers sympathize with the emotional transition of melancholy,
peace and acceptance as he turns into an angel, versus the angel turning into a
man as he experiences desire, lust and desperation. Michals is capable of
displaying these emotions and narrative transitions with the usage of lighting,
specially on the main characters, whenever they show their humanity there seems
to be shadows and a darker essence cast upon them contrary to their divine and
luminous presence in the scene.
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Grandpa Goes to Heaven
1989
Five gelatin silver prints with hand applied text
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The Fallen Angel 1968 Eight gelatin silver prints with hand-applied text |
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