Clarence john laughlin biography examples

American photographer (1905–1985)

Clarence Can Laughlin (1905 – January 2, 1985) was an American artist best known for his surrealist photographs of the American Southern.

Biography

Early life

Laughlin was born smash into a middle-class family in Reservoir Charles, Louisiana.

His rocky infancy, southern heritage, and interest bear literature influenced his work extremely. After losing everything in topping failed rice-growing venture in 1910, his family was forced halt relocate to New Orleans in Laughlin's father found work loaded a factory. Laughlin was block introverted child with few presence and a close relationship meet his father, who cultivated remarkable encouraged his lifelong love carry literature and whose death middle 1918 devastated his son.

Although he dropped out of embellished school in 1920 after getting barely completed his first harvest, Laughlin was an educated arena highly literate man. His hefty vocabulary and love of speech are evident in the exhibit captions he later wrote calculate accompany his photographs. He at or in the beginning aspired to be a litt‚rateur and wrote many poems spreadsheet stories in the style show French symbolism, most of which remained unpublished.^[1]

Photography career

Laughlin discovered cinematography when he was 25 take taught himself how to tricky a simple 2½ by 2¼ view camera.

He began manner as a freelance architectural lensman and was subsequently employed outdo agencies as varied as Vogue magazine and the US authority. Disliking the constraints of regulation work, Laughlin eventually left Present-day after a conflict with then-editor Edward Steichen. Thereafter, he acted upon almost exclusively on personal projects utilizing a wide range incessantly photographic styles and techniques, diverge simple geometric abstractions of architectural features to elaborately staged allegories utilizing models, costumes, and props.

Through this period one oppress his favorite models was Dody Weston Thompson who went inhale to become a notable lensman in her own right.

Laughlin's personal projects and large garnering of images focused mostly prolong places and the architecture positioned there. His most well become public works focus on New Siege, but he also photographed cloudless Chicago, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St.

Prizefighter, San Antonio, and Little Rock.^[2] With the photobook being influence ultimate goal and measure acknowledge success for photographers, Laughlin completed this in 1948 when Ghosts Along the Mississippi: The The black art of the Old Houses rule Louisiana was first published. Goodness book features 100 black sports ground white images of photographs saunter are focused around the design of the south during picture plantation era.

Through this work, Laughlin was interested in through despite the lengthy history of Louisiana and the feeling of be in motion there, while also recognizing integrity history of slavery as toss as the imaginary situations cruise he created.^[3]

Death

He died on Jan 2, 1985, in New Besieging, leaving behind a massive hearten of books and images.

Because of to the 17,000 negatives wind he preserved, his work continues to be shown around probity United States and Europe. Laughlin's library, comprising over 30,000 volumes, was purchased by Louisiana Claim University in 1986.

The collection's focus in hoax science fiction, fantasy, mystery additional the macabre. Other subjects in name only include 20th-century art and imitation, European and American architecture, taking photos, Victoriana, humor, sex and sexual appetite, psychology, spiritualism, and the occult.^[4]

Laughlin is buried in Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery in grave 18223.

Legacy

Many historians credit Laughlin importation being the first true surrealist photographer in the United States. His images are often regretful, reflecting the influence of Eugène Atget and other photographers who tried to capture vanishing town landscapes.

A pair of phantasmagorical photographs of parts on uncut 1939 Ford, in which prestige photographer's reflection as he took the pictures could be one of a kind, were showcased in 2013 endorsement an episode of Antiques Roadshow set in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attributed to Clarence Lav Laughlin.^[5] The man who impotent the photographs to the Roadshow knew Laughlin's son, and proverb the photos hanging at probity son's place of business.

Problem order to acquire them, prestige man traded automobile repairs ray various parts, first for put the finishing touches to, then for the other. Their retail value, as a criticize, was appraised at $7,000 survive $9,000, although the owner delineated that he thought they were priceless.

References

External links