This week's Inspiration is Joan Fontcuberta. This is probably currently my favorite photographer. I have done presentations on him, I have emulated him, and I find so much of what he does fascinatingly beautiful. I aspire to be like him, as I have the same views on photography that he does.
He has three main projects that I think are kinda stunning: Fauna, Sputnik, and Deconstructing Osama. How he works is that he creates false narratives. In photography, we're supposed to believe that what we see is what happened. How can you trick the senses into believing something other than the notion of reality? He does this so well, and so believably, that people viewing his exhibitions have said to felt tricked by his work. Here, let me just show you what I'm talking about using Fauna as an example, possibly his best and most intriguing work.
Fauna
In Fauna, he creates an elaborate lie about a doctor who stumbles onto this land with animals that had never been seen before. In the book, this doctor documents these animals through pictures, anatomical drawings, and notecards filled with German/latin gibberish.
He sets it up like a natural history museum exhibit. One might think, oh well photoshop photoshop photoshop... except that this project came out in the 80s, when computers weren't even close to being at that level, and digital photography did not exist. When you put him in the context of his own syntax, it shows how simply amazing and flawless these images are.
I know, I am too in love myself to give a proper critique.
But what do you think? Leave a comment.
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