artist research Platon – 10/11/2020

After leaving college in 1992, Platon began in fashion photography and portraiture.^[3] Platon left London for New York to begin his commercial career with John Kennedy Jr. at George magazine.^[1] Platon founded The People’s Portfolio, a non-profit organization.^[1] Platon photographs those who are fighting for civil and human rights, giving a voice to those who are unheard.^[1] Platon aims to capture the truth, to find it in the subject and bring it out.^[1]  His portfolios include photographs of Burmese victims and exiles. Platon was profiled in the first season of the Netflix docu-series Abstract: The Art of Design.^[2]His graphic design education influences how he takes his photographs by shooting with the final graphic treatment in mind.^[1] He works with limited sessions for photo shoots, which make the photographs more intense and authentic.^[1] His photograph of Vladimir Putin was on the cover of Time in 2007. Platon’s first solo exhibition was held at the Leica Gallery in New York and showcased documentary photographs from Colombia and India.^[4]Platon has photographed many well known leaders.^[5] Bill Clinton was the first president that he worked with and photographed.^[2] Other photographs of well known leaders include Muammar al Qaddafi, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Muhammad Ali.^[5]

I like Platon’s work because it has very sharp portrait photos. He uses different levels when taking photos of the political leaders to create a sense of power through the photos. He also positions the person in the middle of the frame. His photos are very high key, simple, sharp. He uses a light box to lighten the model’s face and with the political photo he uses a honeycomb light behind the model facing the back drop to create a halo from behind.  I think the photos with the dark clothes on the models make the faces stand out more. The sharp black and white portrait photos against the white background makes the photo stand out more. I like the way he has taken the photo quite  close to the model’s face and make sure that the photo was kind of framing the face. With the photos of one direction he had them looking different ways, he took photos of them from the side. He uses a big coat and puts the collars up which in a way makes the photo looks edgier.

Sources

1. ^ Jump up to:  “Eye Magazine | Feature | Truth to photographic materials”. www.eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
2. ^ Jump up to: “Abstract: The Art of Design | Netflix Official Site”. www.netflix.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
3.  “Photography: Platon”. adage.com. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
4.  “Legal Alien”. Design Week. 19 (21): 16–19. 20 May 2004.
5.  Ross, Doug. “Photographer focuses on stories behind images at Purdue University Northwest Sinai Forum”. nwitimes.com. Retrieved 28 February 2019.