Montreal -
Diane Arbus (1923-1971) was a gifted photographer and cultural force. She knew how to work a twin-lens reflex Rolleiflex with the best of them.
That said, I swore 20+ years ago not to go to another of her retrospectives after touring an exhibition of her images at London’s National Portrait Gallery. Her 1956-1971 work just seems so exploitative, tawdry, and pessimistic to me. I may not be correct with that assertion, but to each their own.
Having just toured the Arbus exhibit here in Montreal I've concluded yet again that I don’t need to return to another one. Many critics contended that she humanized marginalized people. I get it. I believe she believed that, but the effect seems the opposite to me.
My views aside, there is no doubt that Arbus was a great photographer compositionally and technically. So very sad that she died by suicide in 1971.
