Jerry L. Thompson. Portraits

About

His images he describes, more as descriptive than interactive. If each wore is an encounter, as furtive as it is, it is above all an invitation. People approached on the way are simply asked to pose without any other instructions. These anonymous people show themselves, give themselves to be seen, to read. Actors of the metropolis and gang war, the first portraits, contacts in black and white, were made on the territory of Coney Island in the early 70s. At the time, the artist rubs shoulders with the great American photographer Walker Evans of which he became the main assistant. He also discovers with great interest the work of August Sander. Jerry L. Thompson then chooses to use a large 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 '') camera that strengthens and intensifies the physical presence of the subject being photographed. His more recent color photographs were taken with a digital camera in another Brooklyn area of Williamsburg. Attitude and language of the body, identity factory, clothes, hairstyle, make-up, the presented bodies are written and drawn. They compete in tattoos and piercings. Self-contained bodies that, like phasmids or chameleons, project onto fragments of the city from which the artist made his Thompson then chooses to use a large 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 '') camera that strengthens and intensifies the physical presence of the subject being photographed. His more recent color photographs were taken with a digital camera in another Brooklyn area of Williamsburg. Attitude and language of the body, identity factory, clothes, hairstyle, make-up, the presented bodies are written and drawn. They compete in tattoos and piercings. Self-contained bodies that, like phasmids or chameleons, project onto fragments of the city from which the artist made his Thompson then chooses to use a large 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 '') camera that strengthens and intensifies the physical presence of the subject being photographed. His more recent color photographs were taken with a digital camera in another Brooklyn area of Williamsburg. Attitude and language of the body, identity factory, clothes, hairstyle, make-up, the presented bodies are written and drawn. They compete in tattoos and piercings. Self-contained bodies that, like phasmids or chameleons, project onto fragments of the city from which the artist made his They compete in tattoos and piercings. Self-contained bodies that, like phasmids or chameleons, project onto fragments of the city from which the artist made his They compete in tattoos and piercings. Self-contained bodies that, like phasmids or chameleons, project onto fragments of the city from which the artist made hisstudio . With these snapshots, Jerry L. Thompson carefully explores the paradoxical transformation of the self-skin,navigating between individualization and belonging, a portrait of a young generation that stands out, who seeks.

Jerry L. Thompson has written several books on photography: The Last Years of Walker Evans  (1997), Truth and Photography (2003 ) , Why Photography Matters (2013). His work has recently been presented at the Photographische Sammlung / SK Stiftung Kultur in Cologne.