Diane Arbus Portraiture

Diane Arbus was born on the 14^th of March 1923 and grew up in New York City. She was very famous for her black-and-white square photographs of deviant and marginal people such as dwarfs, giants, transgender people, nudists, circus performers or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal. Arbus believed that a camera could be “a little bit cold, a little bit harsh” but its scrutiny revealed the truth and showed the difference between what people wanted others to see and what they really did see. Arbus said that she was "afraid that she would be known simply as 'the photographer of freaks'"; however, that phrase has been used repeatedly to describe her.

Arbus took many famous photographic portraits most of which are considered unsettling even though they are very ordinary. This is often believed to be because of the atmosphere in the photo, a creepy smile or grainy image can do wonders with the human imagination. One of her most famous is that of the “Identical Twins.”

 

"Identical Twins," presents two little girls in the same dress, one with a frown and the other a smile. Some people believe the twins both seem to know something the viewer does not, there appears to be some sort of mystery about this photo and many people belive there is more than meets the eye to this photo. What’s interesting is that this very disconcerting yet memorable image was later reproduced in movies like "The Shining.”