The photographer Maurizio Anzeri makes his portraits by sewing directly into found vintage photographs. The faces of serious-looking children, sophisticated adults, and prim newlyweds are obscured by intricate thread-work masks, while leaving exposed an eye, a mouth, or an ear to make the observer slightly uncomfortable as it seems like the person in the photograph can see you completely but you can’t see the majority of their face and you are unable to identify who they are or what they really look like.His embroidered patterns can also cover the figures like abstract costumes, but they also suggest a “psychological aura”, as if revealing the person’s thoughts or feelings therefore linking to their identity. The antique appearance of the photographs often contrasts drastically with the sharp lines and silky shimmer of the threads. The combined media of the photograph and the threads gives the effect of a dimension where history and future join together.
Maurizio Anzeri has inspired me to do something very similar with my work when it comes to the theme of identity and how identity can control what you think of yourself and how other people look at you.
Photo Analysis
(Round Midnight)
Technical
Lighting – The lighting used for this photograph is most likely flash as it looks like the model is in a studio due to the the plain background behind her, as well as their not being much choice in lighting in the early 20th century compared to the choice of lighting we have today. The flash seems to be directed and position to lead towards the top of the models body as the photo is more shaded towards the bottom
Aperture – The depth of field seems to be very shallow as the photo is not very sharp although that may be due to the lack of camera quality used in the early 20th century.
Shutter speed – Early cameras had a very slow shutter speed, meaning that the shutter remained open exposing the plate to light for a longer period of time.
ISO – The photo seems to have a very high sensitivity meaning it the photo appears to be grainier than usual. There also isn’t much tonal range due to the camera being so dated.
White Balance -The colour accuracy is not quite right due to their being some brown tones towards the bottom of the photo although it adds warmer tones to the image.
Visual
There aren’t many colours in this image but the variation in tones is quite dramatic when looking at how the background d fades from light to dark mostly due to the flash being used and the black thread contrasts dramatically to the photo. There is texture in this photo but its not very sharp or clear and the thread adds much more texture to the photo as well as forming the 3D effect to a 2D image.
Contextual/conceptual
This photo was used in Round Midnight in an early 20th century ‘glamour shot’ that at the time would have been considered visually pleasing for its ethnicity. Anzeri’s delicately stitched veil changes the figure with an uncomfortable modesty, overlaying a past generation with something modern (the threading). This image is also quite ironic as it was taken when nudity was deemed as even more inappropriate than in modern society, so the fact that someone from the present generation is covering up someone from the older generation seems very unlikely and ironic.