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sábado, 29 de noviembre de 2014

Retratar ovejas y cabras. Fotografías de Kevin Horan.


Tal y como nos explica Christopher Jobson desde COLOSSAL, Kevin Horan decidió que ya era hora de introducir un nuevo grupo de animales en el mundo de los retratos de estudio, que últimamente tiene numerosas muestras como hemos constatado en anteriores posts.
No se me ocurre más comentario al respecto que constatar la calidad de las imágenes, que resultan llamativas por reivindicar un grupo de animales (óvidos y cápridos comparten cierto parentesco genético entre sí y con camélidos así como con llamas, alpacas y vicuñas) que encarnan cierta proximidad doméstica acompañada de una cierta obstinación ("la cabra tira al monte") a menudo malinterpretada como estupidez. Sea como fuere, no cabe duda de que la empatía suscitada por los retratos fotográficos de animales sufre un cierto quebranto al cruzarse con las miradas de estos ojos de pupilas rectangulares, horizontales, que se nos antojan de dudosa expresividad, que interpretamos subjetivamente como fríos, impertérritos o, sencillamente..."de cordero degollado".
Como decía Konrad Lorenz de los parientes no muy lejanos de cabras y ovejas: "si usted desea saber qué piensa un camello, mírele a las orejas, no a los ojos".

Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan

Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white
Ben #1, 2014. Photo © Kevin Horan.
Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white
Sherlock #2, 2012. Ella #1, 2014. Photos © Kevin Horan.
Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white
Carl #1. Photos © Kevin Horan.
Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white
Xantippe #1. Lizzie #1. Photo © Kevin Horan.
Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white
Jake #1, 2012. Photo © Kevin Horan.
Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white Sydney #3. Xenia #1. Photos © Kevin Horan.
Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white
Mr. Beasley #1, 2014. Photo © Kevin Horan.
Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white
Briede #1. Honey #3. Photos © Kevin Horan.
Majestic Black and White Studio Portraits of Goats and Sheep by Kevin Horan sheep portraits humor goats black and white
Honey #1, 2014. Photo © Kevin Horan.
When it comes to fancy studio portraits of pets, it’s no surprise people are willing to hire photographers for loving photos of their cats and dogs, we’ve even seen cameras thoughtfully trained on chickens and exotic snakes, but commercial photographer Kevin Horan decided it was high time for an artistically neglected group of barnyard animals to step into the spotlight: goats and sheep. In 2007, Horan moved from Chicago to Whidbey Island, Washington where he approached a neighbor about photographing one of his sheep. The neighbor agreed and his portrait series Chattel was born.
Lately, Horan photographs mostly sheep and goats from the New Moon Farm Goat Rescue in Arlington, WA, where he sets up a portable studio and works with assitants to achieve surprisingly emotive and humorous portraits that reveal the subtle personality of each animal. The wildly popular series was selected in Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50 for 2014, and one of the photos was acquired by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Prints are available upon request. (via SlatePetaPixel)