EMOTIONS REVEALED (pic 2728)

(Oliver Sacks has written, “No one in the world has studied facial expressions as deeply as Paul Ekman. In ‘Emotions Revealed’ he presents — clearly, vividly, and in the most accessible way — his fascinating observations about the covert expressions of emotions we all encounter hundreds of times daily, but so often misunderstand or fail to see. There has not been a book of such range and insight since Darwin’s famous ‘Expression of the Emotions’ more than a century ago.”)

PAUL EKMAN: In picture 2728 she is showing a social smile or a smile for the camera. The signs of an actual enjoyment smile are just not there. There’s no sign of any negative emotion. She’s doing what people always do when they pose for a camera. They put on a big, broad smile, but they’re not actually genuinely enjoying themselves. We would see movement in the eye cover fold. That’s the area of the skin below the eyebrow before the eyelid. And it moves slightly down only with genuine enjoyment. … In one of her pictures I get a chance to see her with no emotion on her face. That’s picture 4034. So I can see what the eye cover fold looks like when she’s not smiling. And it’s just the same as with the smile. That’s the crucial difference between what I call a Duchenne smile, the true smile of enjoyment, named after the French neurologist who first made this discovery in 1862, and the forced smile, the social smile.

(In “Emotions Revealed” Ekman quotes Duchenne: “The emotion of frank joy is expressed on the face by the combined contraction of the zygomaticus major muscle and the orbicularis oculi. The first obeys the will but the second is only put in play by the sweet emotions of the soul… The muscle around the eye does not obey the will; it is only brought into play by a true feeling, an agreeable emotion. Its inertia in smiling, unmasks a false friend.”)


http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/the-most-curious-thing/

THE LOOK OF LOVE

That's Italian. 

BLANCHE & BUCK

Blanche Barrow, sister in law of Clyde Barrow, lived a relatively long time, 77 years.
Long enough to see her portrayal by Estelle Parsons and decide, despite the Academy Award win, that she made her look like "A screaming horses ass".
Here she is screaming as her husband lay mortally wounded nearby, July 23, 1933.

REVISITATION OF LORENA BOBBIT

One of the best things about having a blog is that you can bring people's attention to something you did a while ago, something that maybe happened abroad, like in the UK, and no one really heard, or noticed, or asked you about it but you really thought they should. Anyway what a blog does is give you the chance to show this thing again, as I saw cleverly noted on someone's website recently, to flashback. In the case of my portrait of Lorena Bobbit, commissioned in 2008 by the Sunday Telegraph UK, it allows me 2 flashbacks. My own personal memory of shooting her, in the D.C. suburb of Manassas Virginia, and the collective flashback to 1993 when she so famously cut off her husbands penis. She came to the shoot accompanied by her current husband, a large man who mentioned that he would like to be played by Vince Vaughn should a movie of her life ever be made. She herself was quiet, a bit wary, and very nice. She did what I asked her to, which was to raise her hand to her face in somewhat doleful manner (either self-consoling or shielding, both indicative for me of her famous history with domestic violence), and wait that way, the gruelingly long time for me to adjust my large format camera. 

PLANTCARE RESIDES

 

If you are in Berlin, and in need of some dental work, why not pay a visit to the impressive dental practice of Dr. Goetz Parloh? If you do, you will no doubt notice that the walls have been adorned by the fascinating "Plant Care" photo series, a collaborative project between myself and Ryan Schaefer. 

These digital C prints are approximately 26x30 inches, framed, and, yes, available for purchase along with the companion manual,
PLANTCARE: Exploring the Relationship Between Houseplant and Man.

(excerpt of introduction)

Though many are inclined to treat them as mere decorative objects, houseplants are living beings in need of love and regular care.  Each houseplant is unique unto itself and demands at least a few measures of support on a daily or weekly basis.  One must remember that it has been taken out of the context of its natural environment. A thoughtful caretaker must do his best to ensure his plants will have the support system it needs to live a healthy and fulfilling life.  Through this connection between houseplant and man, both entities will no doubt be immeasurably rewarded.  If you take these first essential steps, you will be well on your way to successful cultivation.

Now until an unspecified end date.

The offices of Dr. Goetz Parloh

Jagerstrße 61, 10117 

Berlin, Germany

MORE FROM ST. VINCENT

I started asking myself the tough questions, photographically speaking. For instance: Why have wide angle lenses gone out of fashion as a portrait lens? What about cross processing? Sloppy borders? Particularly in music, where these techniques, for better or worse, defined the visual ephemera of a generation. I guess that is my answer, but anyway, my next thought was, why not bring some of this back? And so I used the Hasselblad 503CW with a 40mm lens for these, the Annie Clark "baby sessions." One of the most creative, fun, open and exciting collaborators I've ever had.

 

ART IN THE AGE OF:

If you lived in Paris, at the Louvre, and you were the Mona Lisa, this would be your view on most days.
(click the image to see it's entirety.)