Diane Arbus is best known for her artwork exploring the relationships between appearance and "A photograph,

ot;A photograph, is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know."
identity, illusion and belief, theater and reality.1 It has been said she challenges the boundaries Diane Arbus
of norms, representing what is considered familiar with the unfamiliar and finding the exotic in Style--Documentary; personal encounter
the plain. 2
Untitled is a collection of pictures from her visiting residences for the developmentally disabled
between 1969 and 1971. 3 The pictures were shot during picnics, Halloween, at the end of her
career, and during the last years of her life. The unique quality these pictures posses, setting
Diane Arbus
Born- Diane Nemerov / March 14, 1923
(1923-1971)

them apart from her adopted style, is a lack of

shock value. These models were not straddled Home- New York, New York
and made to look outlandishly indulgent, ugly Illness- Hospitalized w/diagnosis of toxic hepatitis, July1968,
or drugged, as she portrayed actress Viva in New battles depression; died July 1971 of suicide.
York Magazine during the late sixties. They Family- Married Allan Arbus, future-actor, at age 18, they had
are not taken in a way to highlight or two daughters: Amy Arbus, writer/photographer, and
exaggerate their differences through lighting Doon Arbus, art director; separates from Allan by 1959.
or composition. Nor do I believe it is a fascination Studies- Graduated from Fieldstone High School; she did not attend
with the obscene that she entertained, as was College. Allan Arbus trained as a photographer for the US
the case with her exploration of New York City Army & taught Diane, who also took lessons with Lisette Model: portraits of the
for an Esquire Magazine assignment, where bourgeouis in Nice, France.
she captured dead bodies, the homeless and the Career- Diane and Allan Arbus had a photographic studio up to 1969
destitute. Rather, there is simplicity to these shots; she captures natural poses and expressions, They enjoyed success in the fashion world: Allen, the photographer, and Diane, the stylist
innocence and boldness; still emoting a residue of Arbuss well-known eeriness while illustrating Photographic work for: Esquire, Harpers Bazaar, New York Magazine & New York Times
her ultimate purpose in photography. This purpose is to speak a truth, as it is, in a way no one She taught photography @:
else seems to ask of it, as no one else has looked for it and that she found for herself. New School in New York
Parsons School of Design in New York
In this collection of untitled work she captured a world that she appreciated, of uninhibited Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts
identity. These pictures were shot in an underplayed glory, still challenging the viewer to look -Inspirations/Subjects
into their own identity, while facing the indisputable identities of a world commonly hidden from Friend, Emile De Antonio, the catalyst of the art world
general society. While differences set disabled individuals apart from society, notable qualities of Prowled New York streets hoping to encounter & strike up conversations with outcasts
innocence and unabashed-ness, a lack of self-consciousness, an unfettered acceptance of who they
is what connects us all. It is a portrayal of purity and carefree exuberance that spurs Arbuss Exhibits, Awards and Recognitions-
eagerness and envy. These pictures, in contrast to her already established shocking style and 1963, Guggenheim fellowship (grant)
sensationalist achievements in the photography world, were not published until after Arbuss 1966, Guggenheim fellowship (grant)
death, by her daughter, Doon Arbus. 1967, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, New Documents,
included work by Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander.
1972, Retrospective, Aperture Journal, (revived Arbuss reputation)
Museum of Modern Art, (MoMA) prepared to stage a retrospective, producing
an accompanying Diane Arbus Revelations catalogue (initial requests for
publishing the catalogue was turned down by all major publishing houses)
Apertures Michael E. Hoffman accepted the challenge.
The first American photographer to be represented at the Venice Biennale

-Work Value
To greater understand Dianes intention in portraying these works consider where she came from, Identical Twins is the 7th most expensive photographs: sold in 2004 for $478,400
her personal style, and why she became obsessed with the out-casts of society. Her whole life
was bent towards being a great, sad artist 4 She was born to a life of privilege and raised with fur Tools/Methods
coats, nannies and a superior talent in art. While these seemed to be gifts, they also set her apart
from her peers and she grew up lonely, longing to identify with another human being. Ultimately Early work - 35mm camera
1960s - Rolleiflex medium format twin-lens reflex
unable to, she expresses the longing in her photography. As taken from her own words, "What
square aspect ratio
I'm trying to describe is that it's impossible to get out of your skin into somebody else's.... That higher image resolution
somebody else's tragedy is not the same as your own."5 waist-level viewfinder (allowing connection
w/subjects)
use of flashes in daylight (to highlight &
1
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, http://www.sfmoma.org/ separate subjects from background)
2
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, http://www.sfmoma.org/ city adventurer & explorer, weighed down
3
Diane Arbus Untitled, words and design in part by Doon Arbus, Dianes daugher. by cameras
4
Diane Arbus, A Biography by Patricia Bosworth, published by Alfred A. Knope, Inc., New York 1984
5
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, http://www.sfmoma.org/