While browsing through a forum on CGTalk I found a link to some incredible photographic works by artist Joel-Peter Witkin. I find art that depicts the darker hidden aspects of our human existence extremely powerful and thought provoking. Witkin’s work confronts the viewer’s perception of the forgetten outsiders of our society such as dwarves, hermaphrodites and the obese, whilst also analyzing themes such as death and deformity.

Portrait of a Dwarf, 1987

In Portrait of a Dwarf, one of his more subtle pieces, Witkin contemplates the concept of what we accept as beauty. The focal point of the image is dominated by the figure of a dwarf that is dressed in our ideal of beautiful clothes, contrasting with what we expect a dwarf to be wearing. Adjacent to the dwarf, Witkin presents the idealistic sculptural depiction of human beauty. However, instead of a flawless sculpture we see a gaping hole in place of the face. Witkin presents a conflicting view of beauty, asking the viewer to analyze and critique their own ideals.

Witkin’s work reminds me of the true stroy of Joseph Merrick, "The Elephant Man" who was born with a massive bodily deformity and was forced to make money by parading himself as a spectacle in circus acts. We humans have a distinct hidden desire of viewing the bizarre and the deformed, yet our interest doesn’t necessarily extend to accepting these individuals in society.

Click here or here to view some of Witkin’s other works.
(Warning: some of these images are very disturbing)