Twins: Her photograph Identical Twins, Roselle, N.J. 1967 shows two sisters side by side in dark dresses; it was later echoed in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
The icon is an original FilmAnalysis drawing of an ordinary object, not a copy of any photograph. It is a way into the photographer’s work; the explanation follows the sources below.
Eighty square-format portraits; one of the best-selling photography monographs of the century.
First-edition dates only; reprints, translations and revised editions are on each book's page. What autobiographies and interviews say is the photographer's own account, not independently verified fact.
Life and books in timeVerified record Dots are verified years: birth and death, first editions, awards. Positions are whole years; reprints and translations are not drawn. A dot opens the book or the award.The same as a table
An editorial summary of the body of work by FilmAnalysis: interpretation, not historical record.
Square, frontal, flash-lit portraits of people who look straight back: twins, giants, nudists, suburban families. The directness is unnerving because the subjects collaborate in it.
Colour
Black and white.
Composition
Square, centred, frontal, subject filling the frame; black border.
Light
Direct on-camera flash, often in daylight; hard shadow behind.
Tone
Medium-high contrast, flash-flattened.
Texture
Medium-format detail, slight grain.
Mood
Confrontational, intimate, uneasy.
Recurring motifs
A person standing centred, looking straight into the lens
Flash in daylight making everything equally sharp
Twins, pairs and mirrored figures
Representative works
Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph (1972)
A box of ten photographs (1970)
Untitled (1995)
Related photographers
Photographers with a similar style Interpretation
Ordered by the FilmAnalysis editors’ style estimates: closeness of visual language, not a teacher, a group or an influence.
