Psychological Portrait

I am writing a paper about Philippe Halsman. I mentioned it before...
In my research inot the history of phychological portraiture, I have come across many interesting things, including, but NOT limited to the work of Sam Taylor-Wood:


If I were you, I would put this video on mute and play the song Measuring Cups by Andrew Bird, off of his 2005 Mysterious Production of Eggs(... or you could just watch him for a few minutes/ hours/ whatever... both are great-seriously one of the best shows I have ever been to, but that's a story for another post. This song just goes well with the video above. Try it. You'll like it). I really like the way that Taylor-Wood is pulling so much out of her sitters. I want to know how she got such a reaction from them. I guess ethically, It matters how she got them to cry... regardless, they are beautiful images. The men portrayed are actors, and might, therefore, be faking their tears and various states of emotional breakdown, but the way that she portrays these men who have carried around our contemporary cultural ideal of masculine machismo in childlike tears, overcome with their emotions is splendid. These are candid looks at an emotional gravity yet largely unavailable to men in our society.

And they are beautiful.