Idea 3 Photographer Research - Francesca Woodman

Francesca Woodman

Francesca Woodman was born and raised April 3^rd 1958 in Denver, Colorado to well known artists George Woodman and Betty Woodman. She first developed her photographic skills at the private Massachusetts boarding school Abbot Academy. She moved to New York City in 1979 where she claimed she wanted to “make a career in photography”. She sent portfolios of her work to fashion photographers but “her solicitations did not lead anywhere”. In late 1980 Woodman became depressed due to her work and a failed relationship. She even survived a suicide attempt, after which she lived with her parents in Manhattan.

On January 19^th, 1981, she committed suicide at the age of 22 by jumping out of a loft window in New York.

Francesca was a photographer best known for her black and white photos always featuring either herself or a female model. Many of her photographs show young women who are nude, who are blurred (due to movement and long exposure time), who are merging with their surroundings or whose faces are obscured.

This is my favourite photo by Francesca Woodman because I think it is a powerful representation of insecurity. The image shows a girl/woman standing against a wall in what looks like a derelict building. The girl is covering her face and legs with the wallpaper that's peeled off. I think this represents insecurity because it gives the impression that she wants to hide from the world and be invisible as she is literally 'blending in to the background'. I think it's a good image because there is a lot of texture in the setting and the fact that it's in black and white gives a really good effect to emphasise the depressing message it holds. This photo was what inspired me to do a something similar myself.

This is another photo I found by Francesca Woodman that also connotes insecurity because similarly to the previous photo, she is effectively trying to hide behind the obscure fireplace almost as if she's escaping from the world. You can also see in the photo that she's moving which I think suggests distress and panic. I get the impression that the overall message of the image is that she wants to be unnoticed but feels angry when she can't completely hide herself. If I were to do a photo like this, I would have to put my camera on a slow shutter speed to capture the blurriness to show movement.

This photo in relation to the previous two seems as though she's reached a worse state of depression and insecurity because nearly her whole body is blending in with the wall, only she doesn't appear to be distressed by this because maybe she's happier now that she's almost entirely invisible. also, I think that the building represents her life as it's all dark and gloomy which contrasts with outside which is brighter and sunny representing the rest of the world. In which case, the point of the photo, to me, is that she's so absorbed in her own world and doesn't interact with the outside world.

This photo looks like she's desperate and reaching for help