"I work from awkwardness."
Born in 1923, native New Yorker Diane Arbus married young (18) and began her career as a fashion photographer. Working alongside her husband, Arbus gained notoriety for her innovative work in magazines. In 1959, her work changed direction and became more artistic. She received two Guggenheim fellowships followed shortly thereafter by her first exhibit at the MOMA. Her momentous, promising career was tragically cut short by her suicide in 1971. The following year Arbus became the first American photographer to have her work shown at the Venice Biennale.
Arbus is very well known for her subject matter. Her work consists mostly of odd looking people she referred to as "freaks". She loved to capture the extraordinary. The majority of her photographs are lit with direct off camera flash creating high contrast situations and intense, defined shadows. In my opinion this enhances the roughness of the viewing experience.
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