David Lee Guss
Coda, Photography homage, Diane Arbus & Weegee, "Predator" and Dr. Seuss' friends, Halloween, Casa Grande, AZ, 2003
Diane Arbus wears the mantle of "Queen of the Bizarre." The former fashion photographer turned her two and a quarter Rolleiflex camera to the physically and mentally challenged; including dwarfs, giants and circus performers, among others.
She befriended many of them, so she really was not an exploiter of the abnormal. Having serious mental concerns herself, she committed suicide in 1971, which immediately increased the value of her prints.
As when a cynic proclaimed, at Elvis Presley's death in 1977, that it was a good career move, the same could be said of Arbus. And it could be argued that Elvis' death, in turn, was a slow suicide over years of flagrant drug abuse.
This Casa Grande, Arizona Halloween night celebration of the Dr. Suess characters and "Predator," echoes Arbus. The black youth on the edge of the frame echoes the bag lady in Weegee's "The Critic."
"Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats."...Diane Arbus (1923-1971)
"People are so wonderful that a photographer has to wait for that breathless moment to capture what he wants on film."...Weegee, aka Arthur Fellig (1899-1968)
@2009 David Lee Guss Homage, Diane Arbus & Weegee, Halloween, Casa Grande, Arizona, 2004-2008
Coda, Photography homage, Diane Arbus & Weegee, "Predator" and Dr. Seuss' friends, Halloween, Casa Grande, AZ, 2003
Diane Arbus wears the mantle of "Queen of the Bizarre." The former fashion photographer turned her two and a quarter Rolleiflex camera to the physically and mentally challenged; including dwarfs, giants and circus performers, among others.
She befriended many of them, so she really was not an exploiter of the abnormal. Having serious mental concerns herself, she committed suicide in 1971, which immediately increased the value of her prints.
As when a cynic proclaimed, at Elvis Presley's death in 1977, that it was a good career move, the same could be said of Arbus. And it could be argued that Elvis' death, in turn, was a slow suicide over years of flagrant drug abuse.
This Casa Grande, Arizona Halloween night celebration of the Dr. Suess characters and "Predator," echoes Arbus. The black youth on the edge of the frame echoes the bag lady in Weegee's "The Critic."
"Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats."...Diane Arbus (1923-1971)
"People are so wonderful that a photographer has to wait for that breathless moment to capture what he wants on film."...Weegee, aka Arthur Fellig (1899-1968)
@2009 David Lee Guss Homage, Diane Arbus & Weegee, Halloween, Casa Grande, Arizona, 2004-2008