mixedmedia

Thank you, cybermike and cyn for responding.

Yes, I am not trying to say that depictions of extremity and death are something new in the world of art. But I'm pretty sure that no one has gone to the extremes that Witkin has to procure dead bodies for the purpose of posing them within a fictional narrative style. Not to mention using body parts in bizarre still lifes (I have never found out whether he has the bodies dismembered and decapitated, or if he 'gets' them that way.)

Just as a bit of supporting trivia, Witkin obtains the bodies from morgues (I think in Mexico) at which there is always a large supply of unclaimed bodies.

Personally, I both appreciate the beauty of the photographs and his visionary exuberance, as well as his technical ability as a photographer. But I have serious qualms about his use of the inanimate human body as a mannequin.

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
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