Itkoff is an American fine art and documentary photographer currently living and working in New York City. He is one of the founding editors of Daylight magazine (http://www.daylightmagazine.org/) and also regularly contributes to The British Journal of Photography magazine.
His 2009 photobook entitled, ‘Street Portraits’ uses photography as identification in a very interesting way. The idea itself is somewhat simple – Itkoff discovers busy, urban areas within a city and with the help of an assistant, asks strangers to stand in front of a white background whilst he takes their photograph.
The execution of the shot is what sets Itkoff apart from other somewhat generic contemporary street photographers. Striking white backgrounds are usually used to add ambiguity within the context of an image. However, Itkoff shoots a full body shot of the subject and also chooses to incorporate elements of the background environment. This interesting juxtapose between isolation and containment forces the viewer to question the subject both as the individual and also as part of the context of the city environment.
Itkoff presents some interesting ideas surrounding what the city means to him – As a city dweller himself for most of his life, the majority of his body of work surrounds themes based around the city. Each person occupies their own isolated space but also exists outside this boundary, as part of the whole that is ‘the city’. Itkoff identifies and celebrates the ordinary, everyday, mundane individual but also recognises the importance of that individual and the many varied types of people that inhabit city environments.
'In his approach Itkoff is rejecting the pretension of hidden artifice, and the effect is powerful — each subject exists in a shared space, but this is a space which itself exists in everyday reality. '
(D.Espest: Photoeye magazine, Jul 2009 isue)
I find Itkoffs work incredibly interesting. The images I find most intriguing are the ones in which the exact location of the city is somewhat ambiguous – graffiti backstreets with derelict buildings that could exist in any city across the world. When you remove the iconic sights that we associate with particular cities (for example, yellow taxi cabs and fire hydrants in New York City) does this alter the way in which Itkoffs work is viewed?
Below, Itkoff discusses his work and early influences and discusses up and coming fine art photographers that have featured in Daylight magazine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TbknRB8uHhc
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