Ralph Gibson

Ralph Gibson, Infanta(1961-2005), 1972

Ralph Gibson is a recognized photographer known for capturing suggestive imagery within his photographs and his use of shadows (artsy.com) In his piece Infanta Gibson photographs a woman in the shadows, with the light glaring upon her face. If the viewer steps back, and focuses more on the shadow, we can see a second face on the subject's face, in a portrait like pose. Gibson's use of shadow to use the subject's shadow to produce a second face is incredible. Our main focal point is instantly drawn to the eye where we then look to the left to see what she is seeing, but then after looking at her a second time, the shadow face appears. 

I find this piece to be very illusionistic because he is managing to only use the subject to produce the second phase and not another person standing off to the side in a portrait pose. If we look closer into the shadow we can see her other eye, thus indicating the way he has her head positioned, with the light allows for a shadowy silhouette transforming her from three dimensional to a two dimension plane.

Ralph Gibson, The Somnambulist (1968-70), 1969

Another style Gibson was known for was capturing photographs that often portray suggestive messages. For example, in The Somnambulist we see someone heading into a door, leaving the door open for the viewer. The message taken away from the photograph could be a lover inviting their other in or it could be someone about to come out of the door. Gibson leaves this up to the viewer's interpretation. 

Personally, after researching Gibson's other photographs, I believe he is trying to get the viewer to think that a mistress or a lover of some kind is playfully leaving the door open for them to enter. The silhouette hand is glowing, yearning for the viewer to come towards the door, the light is also on, making me further believe that the person is going into the room and is not exiting the room. Gibson's imagery can often make the viewer feel perverted for thinking such ways, when the message could be entirely different. There are a vast array of other photographs where Gibson plays between an innocent picture and him purposely portraying a model or certain objects to represent an innuendo. 

I personally find this hilarious because he is messing with the viewer and he doesn't have to be present to do so. The ambiguity of his photographs allows the depiction to be left to the viewer, in most of his photographs, not all of them. 

Works Cited:

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ralph-gibson-the-somnambulist-1968-70

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ralph-gibson-infanta-1961-2005

http://www.artnet.com/artists/ralph-gibson/biography