Dr. Heisenberg's Magic Mirror of Uncertainty by Duane Michals
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French Vogue contacted Michals one day in 1999 to ask if he could illustrate a piece on quantum physics for a special scientific edition of the magazine. Surprisingly, the subject turned out to be one of Michals' focus, as he was able to recite the names of subatomic particles.
Michals bought a convex mirror in an antique store in Bath and bought it back to the US. He believed that he can use such a mirror to illustrate Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. He shot a set of six images in which the model was holding the huge mirror and showing different reflections of herself. He named the series of shots Dr Heisenberg’s Magic Mirror of Uncertainty. Different angles cause different changes in the appearance of the model. Even a tiny movement significantly altered how the model looked. Her eyes were sometimes enlarged and her lips were elongated. In the last image, Michals made her look at the camera. Her cheeks became bigger as if there is no face. It looked like a blank slate. That appeared to be pure white energy and the best way to end the task.
Using handwritten text next to his images, Michals reinforces the message and the imaginative concept that the image alone cannot express. And in doing so, he tells a narrative. The model attempted to recognize herself in the mirror but learnt more about herself after noticing new and unexpected features on her face. "Uncertainty permits anything and everything," the photographer stated in the last image. Even if uncertainty might be frightening, it also reveals new aspects of things. It could be beneficial to be open to new experiences.
Paradise Regained 1968
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In a series of photos titled "Paradise Regained", a man and a woman are neatly dressed in a space like an office. As the photos progressed, the clothes on the man and woman faded one by one.
At the same time, all kinds of plants slowly grew in the house, and the furniture in the house disappeared one by one. Finally, the two naked people, like Adam and Eve, revealed the most primitive self of human beings. The series of images proceeds like a movie storyboard, showing that humans are basically nothing more than savages without the so-called artifacts of civilization imposed on them, such as clothes, furniture, etc.
My thoughts
Duane Michals most famous work on photography is sequential photography, in which he often uses multiple photos to present a time-varying, themed story in an orderly and dramatic manner. Looking at his photos, you will unconsciously make up the time gap between photos. His photography will bring you in like watching a movie, with a narrative and a sense of participation.
Referrence
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.446.e
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