Francesca Woodman
“I was inventing a language for people to see the everyday things that I also see, and show them something different” Francesca Woodman
Francesca woodman was an American Photographer born 1958 best known for her surrealist portraits of herself and other women. She committed suicide at 22 but made around 800 images in her lifetime that now are exhibited by her parents. Her figures are often semi nude and obscured, either by furniture, object or blurred in motion by low exposure creating a haunting effect. Most of her images are taken in decaying empty rooms with minimal furniture or carefully selected props. Woodman had a particular interest in mythology and the idea of transformation – there is a constant through theme of escapism within her work. Large amounts of her work are centered around her body using objects such as pegs and glass panes to press and distort her flesh in grotesque and exaggerated.
“Even when wholly present in the pictures as the subject of her self-portraits, Woodman is never quite with us, never quite with herself.“
(Townstead. C (2006). Francesca Woodman. London: Phaidon Press Limited.)
Her ability to create unconventional self portraits is an interesting way to present identity, whilst photographs are taken as a direct representation the truth, She often finds ways to obscure her face and body staging her photos to create imagined realities. The nature of her death also changes the way we view her work with suicide being both a taboo subject but also one that draws fascination, whilst the intention of many images she made may have been different they have become an insight into her mind becoming both disturbing but also intimate as an exploration of human fragility.
Influences + Themes
In 1975 Francesca attended to Rhode Island School of Design. She was particularly interested in Fashion Photography, idolizing the work of photographers such as Guy Bourdin and Deborah Tuberville. The influence is notable in how Woodman uses clothing throughout her works.
Many of the characteristics of surrealism can be seen in Woodman’s work with possible influences such as Man Ray. Woodman uses unusual objects to create unfamiliar and dreamlike environments, she puts familiar items in strange contexts to evoke an uncanny feeling.
As Woodman was a student at the time masses of her work is purely experimental and were made to push the boundaries of conventional photography. Themes within her practice follow closely to how she viewed herself and her body with it being the main subject of many of her photos, the distortion of herself often makes her photos alienating and possibly addressing issues such as body image and confusion.
Analysis
The background is a decaying interior of a house creating an almost gothic atmosphere with a blurred figure near a brightly over exposed window blending into the dilapidated textures of the wallpaper, the texture initially making the figure hard to see creating an isolating feeling. Woodman uses long shutter speed and double exposures so she could actively feature in her work and create the blurry distortion she is known for. The ruble around the figure is layed in an organized semi circle making you question how the image is staged adding to the dreamy quality of her work. The texture of the floor boards create leading lines towards the figure as the main focal point of the image.
Most of Woodman’s work are very small scale forcing viewer to look closer at her work in an even more intimate proximity. The small scale details also makes you spend longer viewing her and her work suggesting that they were not meant to be just skimmed over quickly.