I have been attempting to write Part II of my post on aesthetics to talk specifically about portraits since I avoided doing so in the first post seen here.

While trying to think of the proper angle to speak about the aesthetics of portraits I was reminded of one of my favorite photographic series called Vector Portraits by Andrew Bush when I saw this post on Conscientious. As Jörg points out, there are other “well-known precedents” to Peter Snyder’s portraits. I believe that Andrew Bush should be considered one of those precedents, but I am not sure how well known he really is. I enjoy Andrew Bush’s series of people driving because there is a great sense of movement while maintaining a terrific sense of humor. Despite the fact that it may seem repetitive to look at several photographs of people driving, these photographs maintain variety within the constraint.  This variety is amplified once the captions are read along with the photographs. The captions ultimately make the portraits “Vector Portraits”, adding a speed and direction to the image. Indeed, the series is quite dynamic with it’s variety.

Woman Meandering Through Various Parts of Pacific Palisades, CA, in the Early Part of 1993 While Singing

Man Heading towards Tunnel at 73mph on a Sunday somewhere in Southern California on an Afternoon in March, 1992

Upon looking for more about Andrew Bush’s Vector Portraits I discovered that he is having a book titled Andrew Bush Drive published of the series in the spring here. The book cover is below with the caption for the photograph.

Woman Driving South at 41 MPH Down 26th St near the Riviera Country Club at 1:30 PM on a Tuesday in February of 1997

From the Yale University Press Website about Andrew Bush Drive:

The culture of cars is an inseparable part of American life. Whether used for functional purposes or recreation, automobiles are expressions of our personality. They also represent the American ideals of freedom, mobility, and independence, providing a unique personal space that is at once private and public.

Andrew Bush (b. 1956) examines this tension between private and public in his remarkable series of photographs of individuals driving cars in and around Los Angeles—a city famous for its car culture. By attaching a camera to the passenger side window, Bush made these pictures while driving alongside his subjects—often traveling at 60 mph. Taking notes on the speed and direction he was going, Bush created extended captions for the images and called the series Vector Portraits.  

I first learned about Bush at a lecture by Jeff Rosenheim who is the Curator at the Department of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. To hear Jeff describe the way Bush goes about making the Vector Portraits is remarkable, I am sorry that I cannot do it justice. Simply try to imagine a car accelerating and decelerating often to try to compose a photograph out the passenger window on the freeway all lit by a bare-bulb strobe. No, he never caused an accident.

My only reaction to such an amazing situation can be summed up in one word; brilliant. The whole process, concept, and final images are all equally impressive. I am excited to see what the book looks like.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 6:23 pm and is filed under Aesthetics, Books, By Ethan, Photographers, Portraits, Posts with pictures, Process. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.