White
On a vast ocean of artistry, Francesca Woodman’s photography stood out on San Francisco Museum of Modern Art despite of its ambiguity. Beauty is an understatement. It catches the eyes of people for its mysterious approach, as if whispering some secrets. But looking at her works, exhibiting nudity on a room with faded wallpapers, is quite uneasy. Because those images reaches the soul of the viewers, making everyone feel the wonders of feminism; the essence of femininity on its first bloom. Like a white butterfly taking its first flight on the world of grey.
Gray
Her works tackle issues of gender, one’s search for self, and how people tend to merge themselves to environment, specifically women to society. It’s noticeable that most of her subjects were females if not, herself. Though, it can’t be classified as conventional type of portraits, those were still images that struggle to convey movements; desperately trying to feel alive. The blurred images created by motion shot on slow exposures puts up an elegant illusion, making it look like breathing. Symbolic and brave, the photographs are full of pathos. So much of strong emotions, it ended up with vague images; like love that becomes more complicated as it gets more dedicated.
Black
It’s remorseful to know how an artistic life came to an awful end. The origin of her talents is unquestionable since the Woodmans are known in various forms of art. At the age of 13 she started capturing her own emotions until the age of 22 where probably she can no longer contain those emotions and keep it inside the lenses of her cameras. Ironically, the only way left for her to expose those griefs is to end her own life. Her life and works remind us that photographs, no matter how flat or distort they may be, are not enough to unfold the everything behind the artist’s perspective.
