Joel Peter Witkin

Joel-Peter Witkin juxtaposes elements of classical art with the macabre and the bizarre in grotesquely captivating scenes. In the same vein as the works of Henry Peach Robinson, Oscar Gustave Rejlander and Diane Arbus, the provocative and surreal images of the American photographer explore themes of mortality, social canon of beauty and the uncanny. His work often pushes boundaries, making him one of the most controversial and influential photographers of his time.

Witkin was born in 1939, in Brooklyn, New York. He enlisted in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, in charge of public information and classified photos. In 1967 Witkin became the official photography for City Walls Inc., studied sculpture at Cooper Union in New York in the 1970s and received his MFA from the University of New Mexico in 1981.

The photographer’s fascination with the macabre reportedly sparked by witnessing a tragic car accident in his youth, while his sensibility to classical compositions and exploring religious themes in his work stem from his upbringing in a Catholic household and his admiration of the work of early Renaissance painter Giotto. Throughout his oeuvre, spanning tableaux vivants and still lifes, Witkin has made references to the greats of Western art history, from the Old Masters, such as Diego Velázquez, Sandro Botticelli and Giuseppe Arcimboldo, to Surrealist artist Giorgio de Chirico. His photographs are meticulously staged, featuring elaborate compositions that evoke a sense of baroque theatricality.

Witkin’s work has received both acclaim and controversy, due to the transgressive nature of the subjects of his images. His 1983 photograph Sanitarium was the main inspiration behind the fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 2001 collection. His works now belong to the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and more.