I was immediately drawn to this area of portrait photography when researching the area. The minimalist, simplistic style allows the viewer to focus more on the subject and reveals a beautiful, poetic aura within the portrait. I also like the deadpan facial expression as it creates a powerful gaze that transforms the image into an intimate and personal portrait.
THOMAS RUFF- PORTRAITS
Ruff created this portrait in 1986 in Düsseldorf, Germany, he studied at the Düsseldorf Kunstakademie in 1977–85. The portrait is part of a large series of works entitled Portraits that Ruff completed in 1998- each portrait is identical in size and feature a young male or female subject against a white background and staring out towards the viewer with a blank expression. Each was made using a standardised technique- the sitters were positioned before a large format camera that was mounted on a tripod and covered in a black cloth. Ruff composed each scene using the inverted image that appeared on the camera’s focusing screen, after which he inserted a film holder containing the photographic plate, closed the camera, set the shutter, re-covered the camera with the black cloth and took the photograph.
Ruff stated in 1997 that: ‘I have an idea of an image, but I can’t find the image because it doesn’t exist yet. So I have to make it myself’. His Portraits act as both representations of individuals and standardised records of faces and bodies. They could be considered a reflection on the truth value of the photographic portrait. Ruff explained in 1989:
I don’t believe we can still make portraits in the conventional sense of ‘representing a personality’ today. At least I don’t claim to do that. Which is why I imitate portraits. Nonetheless, there is still a great deal of reality in my portraits.
I like the way we as a viewer feel disconnected from the subject- while the deadpan expression and style of the images is powerful to the viewer, our interaction with the subject is reduced and we are not given any insight as to the personality of the subject. I also like the use of repetition as it creates a uniform like effect, once again removing any personality or indication about the person.
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT 