What was Diane Arbus's photography style?
Diane Arbus photographed a wide range of subjects, including marginal groups, families, and performers, in familiar settings like homes, streets, and workplaces. She is noted for expanding acceptable subject matter and violating traditional boundaries by befriending her subjects rather than objectifying them, capturing a rare psychological intensity. Her fascination focused particularly on people creating their own identities or trapped in restrictive uniforms, an approach that Susan Sontag later contrasted with Depression-era documentary photography.
What we know
- Diane Arbus photographed diverse subjects such as strippers, carnival performers, nudists, people with dwarfism, and middle-class families in familiar settings like their homes, streets, and workplaces. [2]
- She expanded notions of acceptable subject matter and violated canons of appropriate distance between photographer and subject. [2]
- By befriending rather than objectifying her subjects, Arbus captured a rare psychological intensity in her work. [2]
- Susan Sontag contrasts the work of Diane Arbus with Depression-era documentary photography in her 1977 collection of essays. [4]
Where to go next
- a case in pointWho were Diane Arbus's typical subjects?
- how we knowHow did the MoMA exhibition New Documents shape her legacy?
- compared withWhat did Susan Sontag argue about photography and society?
- whoHow did Amy Arbus pursue her own photography career?
- the bigger pictureWhat is the historical role of fine-art nude photography?
- an unexpected connectionHow does Susan Sontag's critique link Arbus to the Great Depression?Susan Sontag contrasts the psychological and voyeuristic style of Diane Arbus with historical Depression-era documentary photography in her 1977 essay collection.
Sources
- [1]Diane Arbus (Wikidata Q234608) · CC0 1.0
- [2]Diane Arbus · CC BY-SA 4.0
- [3]Amy Arbus · CC BY-SA 4.0
- [4]On Photography · CC BY-SA 4.0
- [5]Fine-art nude photography · CC BY-SA 4.0