Irving Penn

Irving Penn, born 1917 is a photographer who first came to mind when I started to think about the ideas of Guy Debord. The works in mind are ones that he took of tribes and primitive people. What interested me was he shot them in a studio, out of there environment. The photograph of the three Asaro Mudmen in there war outfits kitted with bow and arrows struck me because it made me think why and how he got these tribes men to go into a studio? I researched a little bit into the Asaro Mudmen, to find that they were a 'dead' tribe and that tourism exploited them. Once I read that I began wondering more why and how he got them there.
Behind all of that, I love the photo he took of them, the textured plain background really captures my eye. The way they are posing for the camera, 'ready to battle'.

                                              'Asaro Mudmen'

I found this photo of Irving Penn adjusting the mudmen so they were in the right position and looked 'right' for the camera. This i find to be just as interesting as the actual photo because it draws ideas of it being a set up. There very private tribe becoming public.

Here are some more interesting photos from Irving Penn