Eolo Perfido and disturbing images...

303villain · Jul 1, 2005

So i was walking through the Tattered Cover Bookstore a few days ago and saw the cover of Eyemazing and was like holy crap! it was a photo by Eolo Perfido from his series called Propaganda... so i looked through the magazine at his photographs from the series (which is about the bad side of American Culture)...the images were incredibly disturbing, yet i couldnt help but keep looking... so i came home and looked at the rest of his work..and let me just say....VERY different from anything ive seen...but very very powerful.. he captures so much horror, emotion, pain, and sorrow in many of his different images... *he also does lots of fashion photography* i am really intrigued...

so my questions are these:
1) do any of you know of any other photographers who have similar styles?

2) do the disturbing or emotional or eerie or "strange" kinds of images appeal to you???

www.eoloperfido.com

craig · Jul 1, 2005

Joel Peter Witkin comes to mind. His images are dark. May be revealing of a place in our minds that is not frequently explored, but is there none the less. Horrific in a sense, but not in the sense of seeing a car accident.

Some of Nan Goldin's work illustrates pain in a different way. Her stark images of junkies shows that the devil has stolen these peoples soul and he ain't givin' it back.

Personally these images do not appeal to me. Appeal may be the wrong word. I am definitely intrigued. I am flooded with emotion and I look inward. That is one reason photography is so powerful. I wish the world was all flowers and sunsets, but it is not. On occasion it is important to realize that

elsaspet · Jul 13, 2005

I think of Weegee and all his photos of gangster and death and gangster deaths. I didn't find them appealing, but they were interesting.

deb · Jul 14, 2005

I think that the disturbing images appeal to me, as art. If a photograph is unable to move me It's nothing more than a study of technique and light. A studio portrait of a person may capture some elements of the personality if well done, but it still masks a lot of what makes that person an individual. I can say yes or no, as to whether or not the image is well composed and properly exposed but it's not really going to "move" me in one direction or another.

Some photos can make you laugh, others make you cry and some just make you sit down and wonder about the state of humanity. If you can get one of these responses from an audience, then you've mastered the art of photography. If you get a technically correct shot, you've mastered the craft of photography.

darin3200 · Jul 17, 2005

I really don't find the pictures terribly distrubing, but more interesting.
What does everyone else see when they look at these pics? I just see it as people are blinded by nationalism

303villain · Jul 19, 2005

darin i tend to agree with you, but i couldnt find a better word to describe the nature of them.. if you know what im trying to say, haha cause im not even sure i do. ive asked several people about those pictures, some were photography fans, some were artists of other sorts, some were other people i knew, and of the 20 or so people i talked to, onl a few of them would look past the fact that they are graffic depictions of our nations flag, and almost all of them hated them, some were incredibly offended by them, but i love the style and the artistic vision in them. the pain and emotion are captured very well in his images. his two favorites of mine are the one with the priest, which really shows that blind faith sort of issue, and one from another series of his, i believe its called black tears. its an amazing photograph. his photos really are worth a thousand words

i agree 100% with deb on the techincal vs. artistic side of the issue, very well put!

Vmann · Aug 18, 2005

I think all art is designed to evoke a emotion or get us to stop and think on things presented before us in ways we don't usually think.

His work depicts what he wanted us to see. The grim reality of certian peoples perspective around us and he does so very well. I dont think the pieces where meant to move us emotionaly so much as they where designed to make us think. They work because they alter are sense of reality.

Its funny some of the people you spoke with hated the way he displayed the flag but yet isn't that the idea behind the images. The flag represents so much and yet they only see the photos the way they view them. closing there EYES to the message he has created with the blind subjects and not looking at things with a new perspective.

Aren't opionens great... I'm going to the store to buy some more.

terri · Aug 18, 2005

303villain said:
So i was walking through the Tattered Cover Bookstore a few days ago and saw the cover of Eyemazing and was like holy crap! it was a photo by Eolo Perfido from his series called Propaganda... so i looked through the magazine at his photographs from the series (which is about the bad side of American Culture)...the images were incredibly disturbing, yet i couldnt help but keep looking... so i came home and looked at the rest of his work..and let me just say....VERY different from anything ive seen...but very very powerful.. he captures so much horror, emotion, pain, and sorrow in many of his different images... *he also does lots of fashion photography* i am really intrigued...

so my questions are these:
1) do any of you know of any other photographers who have similar styles?

2) do the disturbing or emotional or eerie or "strange" kinds of images appeal to you???

www.eoloperfido.com

Too staged to be really disturbing.

But I dug all of it. He has assembled a very talented team to assist with makeup, hair and lighting, and has wonderful results. Beautifully done stuff. :thumbup:

I enjoy viewing anyone's work when it is so well done. I like to see the progression from various styles and themes, see their growth.

Very nice link!