Taken from the website http://www.arnoldnewmanarchive.com/ "Generally acknowledged as the pioneer of the environmental portrait, he is also known for his still life and abstract photography, and he is considered as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century." So its no wonder Kate wanted us to study him!
I like his early work because the detail is good (I'm always impressed with someone who knows how to manually use a film camera and make it look good) but there isn't anything compositionally "wow" for me. He did a great job documenting with his images and while it may not be artistically creative, its important to history. The following picture is small because its the only size I could save, but see it bigger and more images on his website.
His portrait work isn't like most. He includes the subjects environment (hence the comment "pioneer of the environmental portrait), which adds another dimension to the image. You see the person, but then you see where they live or work, what they love or makes them happy, how they dress, and the time period. Some are in color and I can't say I have a preference for either. When it comes to stuff, color can add or subtract from the person and Its subjective. I'd like to see an image in each and then determine which works better. My teacher also likes "peoples stuff", so I can see why his work appeals to her (and to me, I'm a bit curious in that way too).
Inside the Shoot is my favorite tab from this website. I love to see how photographers set up their photo sessions. I want to know just how complicated or simple the process was, where lights and people were located, and try to learn from the environment. And even though I take pictures and know what you don't see in the picture, its still cool to see his image in the full environment it was shot in and as it was viewed (in magazine, paper, etc.).
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