CLAUDIA ANDUJAR

Claudia Andujar– a Brazilian photographer born in Switzerland, 1931- began working in photojournalism through a project on the Karajá people in central Brazil, a project which is her most renowned one. As well as being a photographer, Andujar is also an avid human rights and environmental activist: co-founding the Comissão Pró-Yanomami, an advocacy organization that supports the rights of the Yanomami people.

Andujar’s images are in documentary style- starting her career as a journalist her work was orientated around news reports. Andujar’s style in these images features very much on lighting and vibrant colours- these images are from two different projects of Andujar’s: one of which is a photojournalist perspective documenting psychodynamic therapy which was accompanied by an article published in Realidade magazine, January of 1970, with text by Jorge Andrade (collection titled “They’re Looking For Peace”) and the other being a photoshoot with a model called Sônia, who was from Bahia who was working in São Paulo (collection titled “A Sônia”). I have decided to study Andujar’s work as a response to the exam theme of simple v complex due to her use of lighting and dramatic, almost cinematic compositions which give an outsider perspective towards subjects- as Andujar was a photojournalist her images were always an outsider perspective however the compositions and how Andujar took the images makes the images look staged and painting-like, making the viewer question the true origin of the images and I would like to recreate this style and intention of images using staged settings and models.

“They’re Looking For Peace” although a piece of documentary photography, the images look as if they have been staged- showing dramatic, film-like snapshots of the emotional stages of psychodynamic therapy: the editing of this image also maximises this perspective due to the flood of vibrant colours (which based around the time of these images release would have been done in a darkroom or would have been the actual lighting in the room) and stark overhead lighting which emphasises shadows where, due to the nature of the subject focus, creates an idea of a mask surrounding the subjects- specifically the ones which seem to be the patients of this therapy. The saturated colours of the works also add to the high emotional turmoil which is perceived- a large part of colour theory is it’s adaptation to emotions and human psychology- possibly something Andujar was aware of when taking this image where orange and red are defining colours: where based on colour theory, orange represents comfort and happiness while the gradient into red represents danger and caution making this image possibly present a snapshot glimpse of peace (while undergoing psychodynamic therapy) this is further reinstated by the open body language of the main subject lying on the floor: however as the colour gradient goes more into red the subjects become darker toned, more closed off and surrounded by shadow. Andujar uses practical methods such as applying vaseline to the lens of her camera, using flash lighting devices, oil lamps and infrared film- creating visual distortions, streaks of light and saturated colours. “A Sônia” is an example of these methods: Andujar retook the pictures and superimposed them on top of each other then added filters, the series is then presented as an x-ray of the female body with inverted tones and vibrant colours: the image above may also be an example where Andujar used oil lamps to create the high saturation of colour.