Francesca Woodman

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Francesca Woodman

• 1958 - 1981

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Just the Facts

• Born April 3, 1958 in Denver, CO.
• Daughter of artistsmother sculpted and created
  ceramics, father painted and took photographs.
• Began taking photographs at the age of thirteen.

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• Attended Rhode Island School of Design and
  graduated at the top of her class.
• Studied abroad in Rome for a year.
• Moved to New York in 1979, where she remained
  until her suicide in 1981.

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Influences

• Surrealism
• Man Ray
• Hans Bellmer
• René Magritte

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Influences

• Victorian Fiction and Gothic Revival
  Architecture
• Houses and cemeteries (abandoned and neglected
  ones, especially)

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Influences

• Photography
• Deborah Turbeville
• Miroslav Tichy
• Duane Michals

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• Its a matter of convenience Im always
  available. Francesca Woodman
• (on why she used herself as a model for her
  photos.)

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• I would rather die young leaving various
  accomplishments, some work, my friendship with
  you, and some other artifacts intact, instead of
  pell-mell erasing all of these delicate things.
  Francesca Woodman
• Nov. 1980 (in a letter to friend Sloan Rankin)

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• Themes
• Angels, ghosts, death.
• Natural reality (nudity is not to flatter or
  titillate).
• Fading, blending in, disappearing, confinement.
• Breaking the Male Gaze.

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• Styles
• Slow shutter speeds.
• Square (usually) formats instead of horizontal.
• Natural light when possible.

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Woodmans Influence Today

• Many photographs, especially those in
  advertisements, show elements of Woodmans style.

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The End