AT 11.2 Karsh Assignment

Karsh Critique

Tennessee Williams, 1956.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Winnipeg Art Gallery with my school to see the Karsh Exhibition. I really enjoyed it and found his work fascinating! Each of his portraits were very strong and stood out, but one in particular that I was drawn to, was the Tennessee Williams portrait (shown above).

First of all, I love how he uses the rule of thirds in his composition and how Tennessee Williams is looking out of the frame. His eyes create and implied line which then leads me to look around the frame to see what else is going on. I think Karsh captures Williams personality in this image by having his typewriter in the shot - he is a writer, therefore this would have been a very important tool of his. Also he has a glass of Scotch, which again tells me something about his personality. 

Other than the general composition of the image, Karsh's use of lighting was incredible. His use of shadows and highlights, to me, seemed perfect. I love how he captures the smoke from Williams cigarette, which creates a real atmosphere within the image. I like the contrast in the image and how the background is really dark, so I, the viewer, am not distracted by anything in the background, as there is nothing to distract me. The focus is completely on Tennessee Williams and Karsh has perfectly situated Williams belongings in front of him, therefore, they are a part of the scene, not a distraction.

I would imagine, that in order to enhance this image to how we see it today, Karsh would have used different darkroom techniques to make the image look its best. I find it really difficult to analyse the darkroom techniques , but the first thing that popped into my head regarding his possible use of darkroom techniques was dodging and burning. Obviously, his use of lighting would have an initial affect on the highlights and shadows of the image, but I also think that he would have burned and dodged in areas to make certain areas even lighter or even darker to get his final desired effect. I also think that he would have used some magenta when developing the print, in order for the contrast to look the way it does. If he hadn't used any, I feel that the image would have looked a little flatter.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and it only made my love for portraiture stronger! Im not sure my darkroom skills will ever reach the level of Karsh, but I will certainly keep on trying.