REVELATIONS REVEALED A Review of a New Book of Diane Arbus's Images

(The author, Michael Dubiner is a professional image maker and lawyer who lives in Wellington, Florida. His articles will appear twice monthly on PixiPort.com

First, a confession. I did not "read" this book. Instead, I studied the photographs it contains and read the dust jacket and several of the captions. I may, in fact, have missed the best part of this wonderful monument to Diane Arbus's work as the dust jacket says that the book; "...affords the first opportunity to explore the origins, scope and aspirations of what is a wholly original force in photography". Fortunatly for me, I think that the images speak for themselves, even if I did not learn a lot of about Arbus's life.

I have always been a admirer and in some ways an imitator of Arbus's work. And as they say; "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery." Unfortunately, due to her untimely death and the tight control by her daughter, Doon, of the publication of "official" works by Arubus, until now, we have only seen a small fraction of the talent of this amazing photographers's work.

While some of her most famous images are reproduced in Revelations, refreshingly, the vast body of the photographs are ones that I have not seen before.

Arbus largely photographed the outcasts and "freaks" of America. But she also photographed the eccentric and sometimes even the mundane in an extraordinary way. Arbus also did magazine work which is contained in another book some years ago.

Many became familiar with Arbus's photographs with the publication of what at the thime was a daring book, Untitled, a project of photographs taken between 1969 and 1971 at homes for the mentally ill. That book gave a sympathetic and revealing treatment to those depicted, in states of joy and sadness. Some subjects had on Halloween type masks, while others were cavorting about together and alone. I picked up Untitled for this review, which I had not looked at in quite a few years. I was somewhat disappointed, as I felt that the book and the images it included contained no where near the depth of the images in Revelations. Perhaps, the very nature of a work like Untitled consigned it to that fate.

The genius of Arbus, I think, lies in her ability to capture sympathetic images of her subjects, who are from all walks of life, without glamorizing them or evoking pity for them. In Revelations, you see some of Arbus's most famous photographs. Images of a child grimacing as he grasps a toy hand grenade in New York's Central Park, the "Jewish giant" interacting with his average sized parents in their apartment, and assorted images of transvestites, midgets and others which have become the trademark of Arbus's work. Revelations also contains images of ordinary families and people and the occasional public figure, all photographed in Arbus's unique style.

Arbus experimented with the 35 mm camera and medium format as well. Many of her signature images were taken on the Street or in homes or apartments with a single flash, off to one side of her camera on a bracket. The lighting was often harsh and therefore revealing.

Unlike some of her contemporaries in Street Photography, Garry Winogrand comes to mind, Arbus did not appear to shoot compulsively, attempting to capture the "perfect image" out of a vast body of photographs. Rather, it appears that she looked for and found that certain person, with that special look that most of us pass and take no note of. It is my understanding that Arbus befriended many of her subjects, going to their homes repeatedly and sharing in their lives.

Revelations is a treasure for Street Photographers and those interested in viewing the human condition, for better and for worse, in the 1950's through the 1970's.

I took the accompanying image, which is contained in the PixiPort Gallery pages a few years ago in a home for the aged that a friend of mine owns. He graciously gave me the run of the place, even the Alzheimer unit and I am indebted to him for that privilege. The woman depicted is a beautiful one, living in what I hope is a beautiful world of her own. Normally, I would not use one of my PixiPort Gallery pages for these articles. However, I hope that this image contains some of what I have learned from Diane Arbus.

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