21.4.2010 Visit to the National Portrait Gallery
After hearing the talk about the National Photographic Portrait Prize and seeing the exhibition make your own choice about a winner and about one that, in your opinion did not merit inclusion in the final selection.Portraiture is an area of photography that i truly appreciate. It has the ability to capture so many different moods and atmospheres often giving an insight into the subject. I love the emotion and intimate honesty that is often displayed through portraiture and the connection that can be produced between viewer and photograph.
To start of our experience at the National Portrait Gallery we had a short talk with the curator as well as one of the Exhibition finalists Lee Grant. I actually hold Lee in a very high regard as i used to look after her two kids at childcare and she is a very down to earth lady with a very unique style of portraiture which focuses on the gaze of the subject and the environment they are surrounded by. She focuses strongly on the 'encounter' and the clarity and honesty often found in her subjects. I was lucky enough to have my portrait taken by Lee last year.
Of the 1,400 entrants 43 finalists were chosen for their particular way to capture a moment or emotion and the powerful images that evoke a sense of self awareness. In the exhibition i tried to consider what we are learning from the portraits. Are we learning about the subject or about the viewer? This was a position that Lee Grant raised in her talk and one that we could spend much time deliberating over.
The portrait i have chosen as my winner is the one that stood out the most to me. Gori, Bougainville by Stuart Miller i found to be a very powerful image and one that captivated me to look in depth at the portrait.
Gori, Bougainville2009
Stuart Miller
Digital Print
"The name of this man is Gori and at 35 years of age he is an active environmentalist and youth leader among his own Hako community in north Bougainville. When Gori stood for this portrait on the beachfront of the Buka passage a storm had just begun and i was struck by his confidence. Gori, and youth living in Bougainville are an incredibly resilient group of people, which is remarkable considering their hardship living in a post-conflict and troubled environment."
Above is the artist's statement and in my opinion the portrait has brilliantly captured what the artists intended to show about the subject. His confidence and resilience has been perfectly displayed and to add to the atmosphere as well as the insight into his character the the building storm is almost like a metaphor for the hardships that Gori and his community have had to overcome. The lighting has created an almost silver/metallic effect that adds to the intensity of the photograph as well as the strong gaze that the subject holds demonstrating his fearless and strong approach to life. To me Stuart Miller has pressented Gori as a modern day warrior. This portrait is composed beautifully and is such a strong image that would in my opinion by worthy of the winning.
Daniel at thirteen by Rozalind Drummond, in my oppinion, does not merit inclusion in the final selection for the portrait prize. I believe that it lacks a certain depth that the majority of the other images contain. I found that as a viewer it was important to make a connection with the subjects and try to understand a bit about the intent of the photograph.
Daniel at thirteen
2009
Rozalind Drummond
Digital Print
The photograph also has poor technical compostion with the top of Daniel's head being cropped of and the soft focusing does not match the expression of the boy. The artist's statement also describes Daniel as "curious, sort of pensive; yet completely engaged for the briefest moment in being photographed." To me this doesn't match the expression on the boy's face i see him as uninterested and apathetic. The overall photograph just doesn't grab me from the dull colours to the poor execution of the cropped photograph.
Images from:
http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/nppp3/photos.php?startat=6&numperpage=24
