Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Meatyard was a black and white surrealist photographer in 1958 who was not famously known. His work was based around the use of props such as mask's and doll's. I was most intrigued by how he kept his work within himself, family and friends. His aim was to please his audience but to mainly please himself. These latex mask's remind me of Picasso's art. The features are odd and ugly with a great deal of emotion seen through the expressions and composition. When I look at these masks I see a splash of Picasso's work move from 2d to 3d. The people wearing these mask's create a deformed look in which others instantly judge by feeling pity or seeing them as ugly creatures. Judging from the mask shown above I feel pity as the shape of the eyes are narrowed downwards which shows sorrow. The man sitting by her side is unmasked. By composing the photo this way shows the mans character of being friendly and layed back as he is sat by the side of someone who is has odd features yet is proud to be in a picture with her. The appearances bounce off eachother but at the same time, showing that they are both equal judging from the clothing and generation. The car they are sitting in front of makes me think that they are the owners there for it could be husband and wife.
When photographing these Meatyard has thought wisely into his composition and decided for his family and friends to be set in environmental locations in places such as fields and his garden. He would look at the particular light in that places and start composing scenes using the camera.