Ralph Eugene Meatyard May May 1972 Ralph Eugene Meatyard (May May 1972) Annalisa Rorvik

Background Meatyard was never photographed He was born in Normal, Illinois He discovered his artistic talent in a photo club he joined in 1950 Six years later, he took over the club and began to experiment with new techniques (painting, masks) He had sons, a wife, and was a basketball coach and PTA member.

Meatyard often used masks on his subjects He was ahead of his time and focused on “the beauty of ideas rather than ideas of the beautiful”. When asked why he uses masks in his pictures, Meatyard answered, “Masks refuse to let us dismiss these figures as anonymous ‘other people.’ They become instead effigies of ourselves”. Meatyard’s Masks

Figure and Boat (7 x 7, 1961) Meatyard often took pictures that were blurry with movement. He did this to represent time and mortality by dwelling on motion and life. From this idea, Meatyard’s style of No-Focus pictures originated.

No-Focus Pictures Meatyard created No-Focus pictures intentionally by jiggling the camera slightly as he snapped the shot. By doing this, he contradicted any association with realism and set himself apart from many photographers in his day.

Untitled (7.5 x 7.5 inches, 1960) Some critics say that Meatyard used this photo of children in an abandoned house to symbolize life and death. Others claim that he uses the photograph to represent the past and the present. Meatyard’s photos were very philosophical. He studied Zen extensively and incorporated it into his work.

“I will never make an accidental photograph” Meatyard used metaphorical themes in his photos unlike any other American photographer during his time period. He combined his knowledge of art with his intellect to make symbolic and complex images.

Genre- Abstract Surrealism Meatyard considered himself to be an abstract surrealist To him, surreal meant “beyond real” He used photos to give a sense of reality to non-real situations

Untitled (Michael and Christopher outside brick building) (1960) This is my favourite of Meatyard’s photos because of his use of focus The boy jumping is out of focus, but the bricks behind him are focused The boy’s white shirt and the dark window contrast each other Short depth of field makes everything look flat except the two boys

References