ERASED ON 08/12/2011
“A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth. ”
Richard Avedon
A portrait was posted here for three months. The lady who has performed as the model asked me to erase it.
Whatever is her reason, I respect it and erased my picture immediately.
I have been disappointed at first, but then I decided to look backwards at this experience positively. As a matter of fact, it is an actual expression of what is and what is not portrait.
Therefore I grab the occasion to clarify some points.
A lot of people do mix portraiture with flattery. To be looking for an attractive mirror on a self portrait is understandable. But, a portrait does not necessarily take as a priority to render beautiful the idea that a model makes of themselves. Instead, the portraitist has to translate into his own language the inner conception that he has of a special person in a specific moment.
This is the spirit of the most admirable photographers, and, of course, mine in this blog too. I see no reason why those who do not share it should be represented in here.
Translated from French by Adélaïde Gomes 