Michael Butler is used to watching people. That's what all good actors do, and Michael, coming from the theatrical world, has a knack for seeing things the rest of us might miss.
After making my debut on the Broadway stage, I came to Los Angeles, where I found work on film, television, commercials, and Voice Overs. Ten years ago, I founded The Actors Center, a training ground for actors, and currently work as a director, teacher and coach. I came to photography four years ago as a way of expressing my personal voice and vision as opposed to a collaborative one.
Michael's new series, Rodeo Drive, is a voyeur's delight. Standing on the corner of one of the toniest streets in Beverly Hills, Michael captured a population that rarely gets in front of a candid camera. It's a representation of Los Angeles life that is rarely scrutinized or captured.
I am fascinated by people; their imperfections, vulnerabilities - and the effort to conceal them. In Los Angeles, you can observe people through car windows. In certain parts of Los Angeles, those are rarefied car windows.
While viewing people on one of the wealthiest streets in the world, I was looking for private and surreal moments, shapes and reflections, the look of people and their faces. What kind of pressure do people, who seemingly have it all, hold within themselves? I was looking for those fissures, those brief moments that give it away.
6 comments:
Thank you for the study.
Numbers 7 and 9 down, have had way too much lip injections done but I think that may be part of the communication here hence "the drive"
Thanks again.
Reminds me of Traffic by JC Bourcart :
http://www.jcbourcart.com/pages.php?sec=ART%2F&page=Traffic&media=Photography
it is kind of very, very similiar to WPP 1st portrait prize this year
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=view&id=1761&Itemid=257&bandwidth=low
Thanks Guerilla and Kaometet! Those are incredible portraits!
This brings up the potential for a discussion about whether to pursue a project if someone has done something similar--I doubt Michael knew about these projects and he is looking at a different population--does it make his work any less interesting? This is an interesting subject, especially since it is harder to find unique projects now that everyone has a camera in their pocket.
Chasing originality is not the main point with photographic essays, I think. There must be a balance between the photographer's point of view and the importance of the subject (I don't like photographers who don't care at all about subjects and I think it is possible to tell looking at their pictures).I like what forces me to think, to wonder. And on theopposite, I think seeing how different people treated the same theme can be really enriching.
Actually, this reminded me of Jacques Tati's film "Traffic". It's OK to mine similar themes and these photos are a lot of fun.
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