Diane Arbus: Portrait of a Photographer

Diane Arbus: Portrait of a Photographer
by Arthur Lubow

Discussion Questions

1. How was photography as a medium changing during Arbus's career? What developments have occurred since then? How has its place in the market changed?

2. On page 147, Lubow characterizes Arbus as having "trinocular vision". What does he mean?

3. Why did Arbus stop cropping her photos? (p. 170)

4. On page 216, Arbus is quoted as likening photography to "a sort of contemporary anthropology." What does she mean by this statement and how is this ideal reflected in her work?

5. Did Arbus exploit her subjects? (p. 228)

6. What was Arbus's relationship to the "freaks" she photographed? (p. 228-229; 245; 347)

7. Why was it so difficult for other photographers to mimic Arbus's style? (p. 342)

8. What does death typically do for an artist's reputation? Can you provide examples from Art History that corroborate your stance? (p. 603)

9. How did Arbus's work fulfill the needs of modernism? (p. 571)

10. Choose one Arbus photograph and describe the subject. Discuss its importance within Arbus's oeuvre.