Fearlessly combining the beautiful and the grotesque,
photographer Joel-Peter Witkin has earned a reputation for creating
visually and emotionally powerful images. Born in Brooklyn, New
York, in 1939 but based in New Mexico, Witkin is renowned for his
ability to find a poignant delicacy in darkness, death and
deformity.
One of Witkin's images features as part of the design for our
upcoming production of Blood
Wedding. Set designer Rufus Didwiszus has long been an
admirer of Witkin's work and decided to use the image (pictured
above) as a backdrop in one of the scenes for the play by Federico
García Lorca that fuses pastoral drama with mythological
fantasy.
"The photo was almost too good to use because it is like the whole
play is contained in this one image," Didwiszus says. "It is so
striking. The image is very emotional, more than just an
illustration. Aesthetically his work is wonderful, but it's also
very theatrical, which explains why people like us are drawn to
it."
It has often been reported that Witkin's inspiration comes from
experiences early in his life, but the photographer says his ideas
come from "reading, art history and the human condition". His
process is lengthy and detailed, with each image the product of
both strategy and fate.
"I carefully plan the images, select the models, make the props and
direct the construction and the backdrops," Witkin says. "But I
keep everything loose. I want the models to react as well as all
the happenstance, which are part of finding the best realities to
create the camera generated image. That is the first part. The
second is my making the print. After I choose the best contact
print negative, I literally enter the image as I print it. That
process can take several days to a month."
Witkin's working process is as irreverent as his imagery and he
uses numerous, often experimental, processes to create his
extraordinary visions.
"In printing, I may cut or scratch the negative, print through
misted tissue or layers of glass in order to achieve what I find
there," he says. "When the totality of emotion is complete, that
image is the master print. All the other prints in the edition must
match that."
The results are undoubtedly challenging, but Witkin insists he does
not aim to alienate his viewer.
"I want to share what I have discovered with the viewer," he says.
"I have been making photographs continually since 1970. My subject
is the history of Western Civilization. I don't aim to shock but I
do photograph intense subject matter in order to create indelible
images because I want to make a contribution to life. I want to
make life better. The meaning of the work is to show the splendor
and misery of human existence but always with a redemptive purpose.
That is what Shakespeare did in theatre. That is what Eisenstein
did in motion pictures."
Alex Lalak
To see more images by Joel-Peter Witkin, go to www.edelmangallery.com/witkin.htm#6or www.brucesilverstein.com/artist/142/Joel-Peter-Witkin
Blood Wedding, Wharf 1 Theatre, 1 August - 11 September,
2011.
Q&A: Joel-Peter Witkin
Date posted: 12 Jul 2011Author: STC