so looking at still life photos on death and the human remains you cannot help but look at the works of Joel-Peter Witkin, who’s work is not for the faint hearted or easily shocked/offended. Witkin’s work mostly has the theme of death portrayed within it but he shoots everything from human remains (some found on the streets of Mexico) to hermaphrodites,transexuals, dwarves, full nudes (men and women) and general outsiders.
His still life images are built using various items ranging from house hold objects such as plant pot and vases to the extremities of severed human body parts as displayed in the below image.
Even though there is a severed arm in the image it almost feel peaceful and the way he has composed the image make the arm look like it is still continuing a task as if it was still connected to a torso.
You can see that he has taken influence from the early still life paintings by the object he uses and even though there are body parts in the image he places fruit in the images as a kind of homage to the artists that came before him.
“Finding beauty within the grotesque, Witkin pursues this complex issue through people most often cast aside by society — human spectacles including hermaphrodites, dwarfs, amputees, carcases, people with odd physical capabilities, fetishists and “any living myth… anyone bearing the wounds of Christ.” His fascination with other people’s physicality has inspired works that confront our sense of normalcy and decency, while constantly examining the teachings handed down through Christianity. Joel-Peter Witkin
His constant reference to paintings from art history, including the works of Bosch, Goya, Velasquez, Miro, Botticelli and Picasso are testaments to his need to create a new history for himself. By using imagery and symbols from the past, Witkin celebrates our history while constantly redefining its present day context.
Visiting medical schools, morgues and insane asylums around the world, Witkin seeks out his collaborators, who, in the end, represent the numerous personas of the artist himself. The resulting photographs are haunting and beautiful, grotesque yet bold in their defiance a hideous beauty that is as compelling as it is taboo. “
(Knipper, D. The Biography of Joel-Peter Witkin. Available: http://www.davidknipper.com/famous_person/biography.htm. Last accessed 23 October 2014.)
Mixed Media 