Is It Who You Think It Is?

Alex Rhodes

Photography Art 2555

Assignment 4

Is It Who You Know Who You Think It Is?

                My photographer I was assigned to names is Catherine Opie. Catherine Opie makes her art by stepping out the human boundaries and have women dress up like men and take photos of them looking like someone else. She was my inspiration along with Mark DeNicola. I wanted to take photos of people that could look like they could be either gender. I took photos of body parts where you can’t really tell if they are male or female. Then I also wanted to include how people know a days are so into electronics that they care more about them then doing other things.

                I had taken photographs of my sisters, nephew, brothers, friends, boyfriend, and myself. All of the photographs that I had taken are from different angles. I had taken some sitting down, laying down, standing up, and I had set a timer and had taken photos of myself. With some help of my lovely boyfriend taking just two photos of myself. The more days that passed for the photos were due the more and more that I was thinking about how I wanted them to look. Though I did not get to do all the photographs I had planned on doing I thought about doing photos other than faces and do photos of people’s body parts. Even though they are not all the photographs I had wanted to do I am very happy with them.

                I had many questions running in my head to myself. They are just about all the same questions I ask myself whenever I have to take photos for an assignment. Do I have enough time to manage taking these photos and working? Which I somehow always end up doing and most the time they are wonderful. Am I going to be able to find anyone to help me or be part of my photos? Most the time I have someone that will either help me or be in my photos. This time I have people but they did not feel comfortable doing what I had asked them to do. Which I understand I got some good ones anyway. And I always had a lot of questions as to, are they going to look good? Or are my photos going to be as good as everyone else’s?

                Catherine Opie makes photos of women that look like men. She messes with how people see. She makes people think weather or not if the person in the photos are men or women. When you first look at the photos you think that the photos of a man. Then when you look at the photos closer you can see the fake hair and female facial features. The photo that had most inspired me would have to be her Hide/Seek series. The photo below is the one I liked the most.    

                This photo had inspired me because if you just glance at it you see a man. If you look closer you can tell the facial hair is fake. I think that you can’t tell so that’s how I wanted my photos to show. Catherine Opie makes these beautiful photographs with colorful backgrounds. However I wanted to make some photos that either didn’t have a background or that have a scene behind them.