The blurred female body, the desolate background, the eel shows clue of organs, even today, half a century later, Francesca Woodman’s works still appear strong and mysterious feeling.
Title: Untitled, from Eel Series, Venice, Italy
Artist:Francesca WoodmanAmerican (1958 – 1981)
Gallery:Scottish National Portrait Gallery(On Display)
Materials:
Gelatin silver print on paper
Date created: 1977-1978
Measurements: 21.90 x 21.80 cm (paper 35.40 x 27.90 cm) (framed: 45.80 x 40.20 x 2.00 cm)/’
In these old, abandoned houses, there seems to be some kind of surreal metaphor for space. I think that surreal works are generally showing worlds which are beyond ordinary reality, such as the simplest, anti-gravity, suspension, and complex psychoanalytic aspects. It is the sensibility in rationality. Just like a person uses a clear logic to describe a slightly twisted logic. And your delusion is so close to a dream, uncontrolled sensibility.
A good surreal work also needs to achieve resonance, and your delusions are mostly a kind of emotional hooligans that belong only to you. The probability that only a small number of others can understand. Francesca Woodman’s work passes me a feeling of insecure (based on the position of the body), the eel reminds me of the umbilical cord. To me, this photograph seems trying to create a scene that a girl wants to be back to her mother’s uterus. To be safe and sound again.
To confirm my think, I did background research about Francesca Woodman. From the historical context, in the late 1960s, the feminist art movement began to develop in New York and Boston. Exploring women’s gender identity was one of the most important subjects. Artists started to reflect on the traditional impression of “beautiful woman.” In her Eel Series, she is lying on the floor, facing down, her body and her hands are twisted, simulating the sting of the eel in the side basin, eel’s slippery skin and soft body are like the delicate and delicate characteristics of women.
As a reptile breeder, I personally also like using animals as metaphors. This is one of my self-portraits.
Sony 6000, F8, 15/s
Different animals can bring different sensory experiences. Background selecting, position picking, lighting… A good photo needs an artist to make a lot of appropriate decisions. Photos do not have a voice, it is a photographer’s responsibility to ‘tell the story’ clearly by creating the ambiance, giving clues, combing with beauty, to present the idea to the audience.