CLICK ON ABOVE PHOTO TO GO TO A MINI GALLERY OF HIS STUFF




Joe Peter Witkin's photographs have really occupied my mind lately, since I'm looking into doing some photographic work, as well as painting.

But they're bleak and disturbing. It's hard for me to shake my mind of the images that he portrays. I'm still trying to figure out if he's exploiting misfortune in his pieces, or if he's trying to truly present historical influences in his work in a new way, as he claims.
[Edited 8/28/06 8:09am]

very interesting. some could be considered disturbing because some the subjects photographed are corpses? i dunno. i like them. the texture and the vintage vibe they have is really nice. i'm partial to the photo i think titled 'woman on a table'. i know artists at school who incorporate animal bones and objects with dark undertones that could be considered disturbing, so i've seen work like this before.

brownsugar said:

You are sooooo darkly disturbing.



That's hawt.

His work reminds me a little of Bosch, surreal and grotesque.


,,,
[Edited 8/28/06 8:46am]

They're interesting photos, but I would be pissed if I found out he dug up one of my deceased family members and cut off some of their body parts to make a composition. I believe he obtained much of his "subject matter" illegally.

There's a museum (I think in Philadeplhia) that has a lot of body parts, and plaster casts of body parts, as part of some sort of freak show exhibit.

I like his work, but I think to younger people nowdays, it's probabbly not as interesting, because much of what he shot could be easily created in Photoshop without using the real thing.

I take it you're familiar with Damien Hirst as well?

Tom said:

Yeah, I thought some might have been photoshopped.

SO none of these are?

Imago said:

and your hawt, bring your ass to chicago!!!

anyways,, i have many friends who are either goth or who have tastless dark humor so i'm more drawn to it rather than repulsed

I'm really digging GLASSMAN. He looks very Christ-like to me. He also looks very lonely.


M

Imago said:

Those are the real thing, LOL. His stuff also inspired the NIN Closer video.

He uses old school methods to get that distressed look in his images, by damaging the negatives.

Tom said:

has he ever gotten in trouble for this?

LleeLlee said:

Yes! That and Giger's early work.

minneapolisgenius said:

giger

brownsugar said:

co-



I love his work and I used to have the biggest crush on him when I was a teenager. Other girls were in love with Jon Bon Jovi and George Michael (or whoever girls liked back in those days, I don't know ) and I was tripping over a 50 year old man in Switzerland.

brownsugar said:

he's got his alibis. He got some of the stuff from abandoned morgues in mexico for example. though it wouldn't suprise me if he got some of his stuff from other sources as well.

I just looked and ohhmagawwd, his work is, like, so grody.

CinisterCee said:

Is that E.G. Daily?


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minneapolisgenius said:

I remember you used to have a Giger avatar.

Number 6 made me feel ill

LleeLlee said:

I forgot about that!

Ocean said:

Oh honey, that's nothing.


This one made me want to cut out all baked goods from my diet.

Slightly NSFW(link)



[Edited 8/28/06 13:33pm]

http://www.artphotogaller...kin_07.jpg (slightly NSFW)
Ok, this one is kind of cool in a tranny sort of way.

we had to study him at school

there was one pic of a severed arm up an ass

ZombieKitten said:

What about the hot cross buns one. http://img.photobucket.co...ssbuns.gif

Imago said:

gruesome!

Imago said:

oh I don't know ..it's kinda cute

Imago said:

It looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones with a penis.
"Birth of Penis" hahahahahah

M