From Finance to High art, literally, Robert Weingarten abandoned a successful business career in favor of a full-time commitment to photography, which landed him a current exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The Portrait Unbound.
Unlike traditional portrait photography, Weingarten’s series incorporates layers of imagery that reflect specific interests, achievements or moments within the subject’s life while digitally incorporating visual biographical information. This expression of nostalgia also functions as an ode to things past—personalizing portraiture in a dynamic way.
He calls these works, “translucent composites,” a title he chose wisely “in order to highlight the difference between them and more traditional collages or montages in which each of the elements is opaque. Here each of the layers of the composition can be seen through to the layers underneath.”
The exhibition features twenty-one images of individuals representing the arts, science, politics and sports. Weingarten said, “My criteria for subject selection was based on whether who they are and what they have accomplished would likely be known in 50 years,” and added “I tried to avoid ‘celebrities’,” favoring longevity over the often unwarranted hype of socialites and fashionistas. Those featured include Jane Goodall, Dennis Hopper and Colin Powell.
A film by Neal Broffman, showcasing Weingarten’s artistic background and innovative methods, accompanies the exhibition and adds another visual component to the idea of the documented self.
The Portrait Unbound will be on view at the High until May 30, 2010.
For more information and a brief interview with the artist go to http://bit.ly/cBAZZc
That looks like a cool piece by Weingarten. I just saw some work he did at Phoenix Art Museum that blew my mind. The series is pretty much the same photo taken at the same time just a different day.
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