Self-Portraits: Lee Friedlander and Vivian Maier

Lee Friedlander

I like how Friedlander plays with light in this picture, using the reflection of himself in the window to make the image look like a double exposure. Once my eye was done analyzing the setting and subjects of the window reflection, I then took note of the small mirror on the other side of the window, which I didn’t notice at first. His portrait is the only subject linking the two sides of the window together, otherwise one may believe that it is actually a double exposure.

 

Vivian Maier

Self Portrait, 1956

I like this picture because it’s unique from some of Maier’s more famous self-portraits because it doesn’t incorporate reflective surfaces and you can’t see the camera. The shadows across her face and her pose/body language (notably her grip on the chair) makes the image have a very dramatic feeling. I wonder how she developed her pose; whether or not she decided on it by looking in a mirror or if it was something she chose in the moment.

 

Sources:

  1. “LEE FRIEDLANDER – SELF-PORTRAITS” https://www.formidablemag.com/lee-friedlander/
  2. http://www.vivianmaier.com/gallery/self-portraits/#slide-41

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