Cartes de visite

'Roll Up! Roll Up!' is a colourful, well-composed image that answers to the Carte de Visite brief without resorting to emulating the aesthetic of the bygone photographic object in an overt way. Circus performers, entertainers, actors and 'freaks' were often the subject of these nineteenth century calling cards. While it is unlikely that the individuals themselves used these cards when visiting for high tea, the photographic studios of the day created these images to tap into a lucrative market as it became a fashion among the middle classes to collect Carte de Visites and display them in the home. This entry harks back to this time passed with the subject self-consciously owning his 'freak' in a way that is truly contemporary.

This full frame headshot is a beautiful image. The scratchings of red that penetrate in vertical striations may be a touch over the top, but the whole effect of the lighting and the gaze of this man through his brooding brow is enchanting. It is as if he's poised on the edge of revealing something. What this could be, who knows? This effect of this is something fabulously unique to the photographic medium - it's ability to freeze time in such a way that the viewer is then able to project their own ideas about what has happened before, and what might happen next.

This is a well-lit and engaging portrait that does what I think good portraits ought to do. That is, it gives the viewer of the photograph a sense as if they are about to embark on a conversation with the sitter. The sharp focal point resting on the man's glistening eyeballs heighten the sense that he's listening-in closely. This effect is not just a trick of the masterfully controlled light, but is also testament to the time the photographer has shared with their subject. Navigating this time with one's subject successfully is a very important skill that always resounds in contributing to a successful photographic portrait.

This entry appropriates the aesthetic of a nineteenth century Carte de Visite yet manages to convey a sense of contemporary immediacy and freshness. Underneath the photoshopped collage is the presentation of an engaging portrait of a young girl wearing a charming Victorian-style dress. The connection of her gaze with the lens, and thereby the viewer of the image, along with her assured pose, is direct and suggests that the person behind the camera has great ability as a portrait photographer. The use of text cleverly plays with the typeset qualities of the original Carte de Visite, alluding to contemporary debates about the relationship between the photographic image and art. A wonderful take on the assignment brief.

As a calling card commmonly used in the nineteenth century, the Carte de Visite was a way in which the caller and subject of the photograph could present their idealised or preferred sense of self to their hosts and thereby the outside world. This photograph appears to play with a heightened sense of theatricality, with the choice of location, the sartorial styling of the subjects and their props, the subjects' poses and their deadpan expressions all contributing to an other-worldly effect. The image is engaging and provokes questions about the individuals as if they might be characters in a Tim Burton film. Marvellous!