Joel-Peter Witkin
[1939]
Joel-Peter Witkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Finding beauty within the grotesque, Witkin pursues the complex issue of how spirituality impacts our physical world. His fascination with other people’s physicality has inspired works that confronts our sense of beauty through people most often cast aside by society including dwarfs, androgynies, carcasses, hermaphrodites, amputees, fetishists and as he states //any living myth … anyone bearing the wounds of Christ.//
There are references to art history in Witkin´s photographs, including the works of Picasso, Balthus, Goya, Velásquez and Miro. He lets us gaze upon his created world, which is both frightening and fascinating, as he seeks to dismantle our preconceived notions about sexuality and physical beauty. Through his imagery, we gain a greater understanding about human difference and tolerance.
His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions all over the world. At the beginning of his career, he was noticed by Edward Steichen, then head of the photograph collection at the MoMA, New York, who included his work in the 1959 exhibition “Great Photographs from the Museum Collection.” Mr. Witkin’s work is acquired by numerous public and private collections, such as Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, George Eastman House, Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
HiGH SPEED
iNSANITY
