ROBERT HEINECKEN - A Case Study
INTRODUCTION
Robert Heinecken (1931 – May 19, 2006) was an american experimental photographer that referred himself as "paraphotographer' as he so often made photographic images without a camera.
(Robert Heinecken, 1982)
THE WORKS
When I look at Heinecken's work, there is a lot of similarities between pieces of different works and I would refer as his own personal unique style. The images in there are all very eye catching and very interesting to see. He usually uses reverse tones and multiple images to convey deeper meanings and message he wants to get across.
ARE YOU REA
The "Are You Rea" collection was one of Heinecken's most popular works. The name of the collection comes from a headline text fragment in one of his series which was then selected by Heinecken himself for mirroring the letters in the words. This collection was made in the 1960s which is a time where the public was being bombarded by the media's own meaning of beauty, race and gender. The photographs comes from Heinecken experimenting with images from magazines and then carefully controlling the light intensity and following the technique of contact printing with light sensitive paper which was then burned into the final photograph.
RECTO/VERSO
The "Recto/Verso" series came after "Are You Rea" which unlike the previous collection, he uses colours in this one instead of using a negative tone. This collection manipulates the advertising imagery, it is to create a social satire that highlights female sexuality and media messages. Heinecken used his trademark method same as the one mentioned in "Are You Rea" to create the effect of 2 photos on the final photographs at the same time. In this he played with mixed messages and double talk to confront us with images of vanity and consumption that reveal the construction and superficiality of media culture.
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