Some would call this a classic example of poor exposure and insufficient lighting, but I say it’s a contender for the Citigroup Photography Portrait Prize. A composition of juxtaposed light and dark with the subject’s direct gaze merely suggested in the shadowy silhouette of his head cocked slightly to the right. A piece of hardware from the Melbourne tram line diagonally harpoons his head neatly through the top. It’s a portrait that tells, like the dream reiterated on the psychoanalyst’s couch, an incomplete tale with just enough detail for us to fill in the rest. Here, it’s the light that is reflected off his ultra-modern glasses frames.
And for those who remain unconvinced (maybe even horrified) by the idea that art is just in the explanation, here’s a regular portrait of the Dr. Clemens. (Here on display, like the early sketches of Picasso, to illustrate that realistic proportion and perspective were in fact willfully abandoned in the pursuit of the sublime. In this case replace the former with correct exposure and the latter with the awesome.)
I leave it up to you to judge what would be the better portrait of this complex character. The simulated cheer or the black shape?
Leave a Reply