I love shooting portraits. I love the challenge of capturing something in someone that they and the rest of the world can then see. Some people tell me that they love my portaits, But those people are usually the mothers of the subjects.
I have a fantasy that I could create portraits so compelling that people might hang them in their homes, even if they had no idea who the person was.
Can a portrait be fine art? Who wouldn't want the Mona Lisa hanging in their living room, even if they had never met the old lady? Of course the Mona Lisa is a painting. People do hang photographic images in their home as fine art. But if itâs a portrait, there seems to be a stigma attached.
For example, my daughter framed a candid image she had captured of an old man in venice, Italy (see first image). You might look at it as a character study, a scene she had found in her travels that resonated with her, an artistic statement. You might, or might not, like it. But most people never even consider it on any of those levels. They usually ask, “Is that her grandfather?”
So I wonder, is it possible to make a photographic portrait that is art? A piece that you might hang in your home even if you didn't know the person? What are the characteristics that would allow a portrait to transcend its usual role?
I have some ideas. I believe that to be more than a family portrait an image must go beyond the individual. The image has to communicate something about the human condition. It has to tell a story. The image should motivate us to know more about the person, and give us the means to at least attempt to know the person.
But even if my ideas are valid, how would I do that? For example, if an image is less clear, is it easier to generalize? Does the face have to be attractive? Or is it preferable to have a more “interesting” face?
So, I have put together some of my favorite portraits below. Do you think that any of them work as MORE than a family portrait? If so, why? Would you hang any of these in your home? Do you like looking at any of them, even if you don't know the person?
When I was growing up my mother used to tell me, “You have a face only a mother could love… and even I have trouble.” Could you love any of these faces?
Might it not be simpler than that? Portraits of celebrities seem to find their way to be featured on walls. Movie stars, singers, revolutionaries, etc. can find their way in famous poses to be a wall feature. Is it simple enough that that vast majority of people find portrait art in familiarity? Or at least in what others are familiar with?
I thought about celebrity posters also. But a celebrity poster is not art. And although a celebrity may not be family, the celebrity is as well known, and probably better loved, than many family members. So, it makes sense that someone would hang it, given my rules above. I might argue that teens hang celebrity photos for much the same reason that parents hang pictures of their children.
What is interesting is that there are very few individuals that hang both celebrity posters and pictures of their children.
On the other hand there are lots of famous paintings of people that we will never know, but would certainly hang in our homes.
Ya know, the more I think about it, the more I can’t think of an instance where I would hang someone elses’s portrait on my wall unless they were a figure as part of the landscape, or maybe the focus was on what they were doing rather than themselves.
And I do consider portraiture fine art.
I think maybe it might have something to do with what we consider personal. What we hang on the walls in our homes are supposed to be a reflection of who we are. Family is obvious…places of beauty, paintings, even celebrities advertise our aesthetics.
I love all of your portraits and if presented in a portfolio, I wouldn’t assume any relationship and would enjoy every one for the fantastic pictures they are. But if seen in your home hanging on a wall, I would probably assume some kind of personal relationship.
I guess it’s just a cultural bias.
I am afraid that you might be right, Jenn.
Interesting, I just had the opposite situation.
A client wondered if it would be vain if she put up a portrait of herself in her home.
Check the portrait here:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1056839&l=bad592cf9c&id=1617252598
and tell me what you think.
Nice!
But yeah, that falls into the whole “personal thing”. I’d want to put up pics of myself too if they were that good 😀