Instead of giving a comprehensive overview of the following artists I choose, I'm going to instead discuss their works for their aesthetic qualities; for me, the images stand apart from the individuals who create them.
Robert Mapplethorpe's work:
The subjects in these photographs appear as sculptures or statues instead of real people. A lot of the time (particularly in these photographs), it seems to have something to do with the forms Mapplethorpe places with his subjects. In the top image, the model, Thomas, is posed in a window. He stretches his body across its expanse, creating angles between his body and the inorganic space. In this moment, I fail to see "Thomas" as a person, but rather, as a curvilinear form. The bottom image too shares this quality. Though the picture depicts human legs and feet, there is a decidedly stagnant affect to the photograph. This, I think, is due to the harsh triangular lines in the background. Juxtaposed with angled legs and a pointed foot, Mapplethorpe's subject seems just as rigid as the black and white backdrop.
At some point, I would love to have the chance to photograph people in the same way I do architecture; I would pay attention to the positive and negative spaces created with the body and also between the body and its surroundings. It would be a testament to the way of seeing as afforded by architectural photography. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a model for such endeavors.
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