Max Dupain

Essay by greenlassHigh School, 11th gradeA-, August 2006

download word file, 3 pages 3.0

Downloaded 25 times

He has been dubbed the "Godfather" of black and white photography, Australia's answer to Ansell Adams, but Dupain creates a league of his own. Through raw emotional content, and majestic composition, Max Dupain captured and interpreted the rarity and strange beauty of Australia.

Dupain was given a Box Brownie Camera in 1924, creating a means of expressive outlet for his curious Artistic appetite.

Quote.... "I latched onto photography immediately. The intrigue of producing a light picture the way we had to in the 1920's and earlier was so fascinating that it has stayed with me all my life."

Having been raised surrounded by an appreciation of the human form, his father a pioneer in the field of physical activity, Dupain felt an eagerness to portray his own spin on expressing the human form.

He approached photography through innovation and the desire to capture a moment no matter how monotonous it seemed to onlookers.

Throughout his lifelong career, Dupain produced numerous images influenced by his keen interests of literature, culture and human physiology, symbolising these concepts into his work, appropriating sensual, pure forms into everyday life.

Working to banish soft-focus romanticism, choosing rather to capture life as is, Dupain manipulated shots only to enhance the humility and humanity of a scene, casting light on unexpected beauty.

Experimenting in the practical side of photography as well as the conceptual, Dupain expressed this by means of solarisation, deliberate overexposure, bas-releifs, negative prints and photomontage. A lot of these techniques were discovered by "Mucking about", Uninhibited experimentation becoming a vital stepping stone for unique visual expression throughout the art-world.

Dupain was deeply inspired by the Surrealist Movement, with great admiration for Man Ray in particular. Surrealism is all that is unfathomable, in the form of dreams, hallucinations and fantasy. Dupain presented this to us...