Connecting Essay- Robert Mapplethorpe

This photo was shot by Robert Mapplethorpe and it is a portrait of Patti Smith. This photo is shot in black and white. This photo does not show Patti in a perfect light, her hair is messed up and she seems to have a lazy eye. The composition is very accurate in that her eyes are practically in the middle of the photo, however there is a lot of empty space at the top of the picture. The pictures main purpose is to show her face as there are no clothes within the picture shown, however we can see she is wearing something, the main purpose of the picture is to mainly look at her face.

I reconstructed this picture in a way, or more so saw it as an influence. I have turned the picture black and white, and although you can see her clothes, they also are not the focal point of the picture, instead it is her face which is light against the dark background. Like the other photo, I think they brightness of the eyes are eye catching. Amelia's (my model) hair is neat but not as neat as it could be which I think shows imperfection, which I like and I am glad I incorporated into my work.


These 2 photos connect because they have the same theme of portrait and black and white, also both compositions are slightly off which shows imperfection to me, which is also represented in the context with the slight mess of their hair. Also, both photos are of women and both photos show neither of them smiling but with a vulnerable expression.