Irving Penn was born June 16, 1917 and is known for his portraiture and fashion photographer. He began as a painter and also did drawings which were published by Harper’s Bazaar. As his career in photography was blossoming, he became known for his post World War II feminine chic and glamour photography. For many years, Penn’s fashion photography appeared in Vogue magazine. His work was among the first to be photographed against a simple grey or white backdrop. He used the simplicity of this better and more effectively than other photographers. Penn was a master of the studio flash but most of his portraits were lighted with window light. Penn’s work can be characterized by it’s clarity, composition, careful arrangement of objects or people, form, and his use of light. Besides people, Penn also had a body of work based on still life objects where he set up unusual arrangements which displayed great detail and clarity. The images I chose to show on this blog are all of a similar color palet and I simply found interresting. The top image of the doll covered in paint which was simply titled “Mud,” I found interresting because I have never thought to photograph a doll body as if it were a human body. I would like to conduct further research to see if other photographers have taken this route before in their careers.
