JON LEVENE – Jon and I have been friends for some years. He is a photographer/film maker/writer.
This portrait was made when he was very tired. We are similar in age and have some vague cultural (Jewish) similarities in our backgrounds. Jon is impressively unimpressed by what other people might make of him. This is not the way I find myself. This picture of Jon appeals to me more than the others, perhaps its the slightly twisted neck or the exhausted look straight into camera. Perhaps its the way his poise is slightly uncomfortable. I’m not sure but I prefer it to the others I shot at the time.
As the series continues I will expand on this psychological theory of portraiture and how we, the viewers, engage with it.
Please click on ‘best seen in full’ (bottom left) to view correctly.
Very sensitive, as ever, Alex
Thanks Derrick. I think the aphorism (is that the right word?) ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ says more about art generally and portraiture specifically than I could find my own words to say.
My thesis, to be developed, is that we tend to objectify art when, in reality, we subjectify it. To be continued…
Thanks for all your gracious comments. Alex