Talk:Diane Arbus
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On her book "On Photography" Susan Sontag mentions that Arbus's work "shows people who are pathetic, pitiable, as well repulsive, but it does not arouse any compassionate feelings. For that would be more correctly described as their disassociated point of view..." later, Sontag also writes "The fact of her suicide seems to guarantee that her work is sincere, not voyeuristic, that is compassionate, not cold." According to Sontag, Arbus's work was a way to rebel from social conventions and her "desire to violate her own innocence". The paragraphs do not make references of Arbus demeaning her subjects. Sontag, Susan; "On Photography", First Anchor Books Edition, 1990, pp 32-45.
The movie Fur is fiction, a "starling combination of fairytale, psychological study, period piece and love story", according to the released DVD. The screenwriters and producers wanted to recreate the tale of what made Arbus leave her "perfect" family life and take that "first" portrait. The "birth" of the artist and all the things an artist leaves behind. Lionel is the "bridge", the reason why someone like Diane would adventure into a world completely unknown and dangerous to her. The movie has lots of references to Alice in Wonderland idea that came from Arbus's own comments on her work (being Alice in Wonderland for adults). MP.
How about a picture of her?
- There's a nice one of her holding the "Boy with toy grenade" photo in a book I have, but I don't believe it's copyright-free. RodC 01:36, 27 May 2005 (UTC)
- Where do these photograph interpretations come from? For example, Some viewers see how the man's unusual body has not interfered with a normal, happy homelife. Others viewers see a stiffness in the parents' postures that shows a gulf between Eddie and his family. Others still see surprise in Mrs. Carmel's expression looking up at her son, as if for the first time. It's odd reading this, since I know rather precisely that two of the three intepretations are hooey; my personal experience being [[WP:OR|], it's irrelevant, but whose interpretations are those? --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 20:48, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
How did she commit suicide, and why is the movie called "Fur"?
She slit her wrists and took barbituates. It might be called "Fur" because her father was a fur dealer in the 30s and 40s and in her last apartment she had a coverlet made out of many fur scraps for her to sleep on.
I was under the impression it was called "fur" because it details her relationship with Lionel the dog-faced boy as well as her background of her fathers Fur business. Although, the movie is fictionalized i was unable to ascertain whether she ever did actually have a relationship with Lionel or if this part was entirely made up just to exacerbate the seemingly strained relationship with her parents and the wealth and normalcy they came from and expected her to follow in, instead of the direction she went in of finding the freaks and bottom dwellers and her obvious search for the art in the estranged underbellies of society. but who knows?
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[edit] Dee-ann???
This is the only place I have ever seen her name referenced as being pronounced "Dee-Ann" .... can anyone provide any evidence to back this up? It's odd to me that no biography I have seen agrees with this. I most certainly do not know for sure but for someone so famous to be almost exclusively called by the wrong pronunciation with only Wiki knowing the correct......
Yes, her name is pronounced Dee-ann. And she never taught at Hampshire College, but did teach at Cooper Union and RISD. Hampshire admitted its first students in 1970.
- I need to know where the emphasis of that pronunciation is. It could be clarified if Diane sounds like "DEE-ann" or "dee-ANN" (french way). --Lux 07:29, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
It references the pronunciation (dee-ANN) in the movie Fur with Nicole Kidman.
Indeed, this is the only place I have seen (or heard) that pronunciation as well. I had assumed that whoever wrote that got it from the movie Fur. I asked my former photography instructor about it and he said something to the effect of "Nonsense! It's DIE-AN." Although he is a very knowledgeable man, many knowledgeable people garner most of their information from books, which generally don't provide pronunciations. So I'm skeptical of the article, but I still don't know.
It is mentioned in Bosworth's biography that it is pronounced Dee-Ann. It says she was named after a character in a movie called Seventh Heaven and it is pronounced that way in the play. It's in the beginning of chapter 2 of her biography by Bosworth. I also saw a video about Diane in which her daughter, Doon, pronounced it Dee-Ann as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.85.193.88 (talk) 17:05, 17 October 2007 (UTC)
And yes, in fact, she did teach at Hampshire. She was the co-instructor of a photography class in the summer of 1971.
[edit] Why did she kill herselt?
It doesn't give a reason. AJUK Talk!! 21:13, 16 September 2007 (UTC) I just saw the movie Fur and read that she commited suicide. Very sad. I wonder why she did that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.229.91.107 (talk) 04:46, 19 December 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Rolleiflex
I knew Diane Arbus and I often repaired her cameras. I never saw her use a Rollei. I repaired several Mamiyaflex C-3/33/330s for her. I'm not saying she didn't use a Rollei, just that I never saw her with one.
TRIKER1 (talk) 21:05, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Unseen work
I formed the impression some time ago that the body of work that we see is one that has been shaped and - not to put too fine a point on it - censored, presumably by a member or members of her family. It's a matter of conjecture to me whether other work still exists or has been destroyed. BTLizard (talk) 11:28, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
- Have you been to the "Revelations" exhibition? It contained a lot of images that hadn't been previously shown to the public. I'm curious, though; what led you to this impression? --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 16:53, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
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- Is that the exhibition that came to London a couple of years back? Otherwise, no. What led me to the impression, though, was Patricia Bosworth's book, which as I recall suggests that she photographed themes (eg S&M) that don't appear in any publications I've seen. BTLizard (talk) 14:32, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
