Nikki S. Lee

 

Nikki S. Lee was born in 1970 in Geochang-gun, South Korea. She went to New York University, Chung-Ang University Anseong Campus, and Fashion Institute of Technology. She was well known for her work that involved attempting to assimilate into different social and subcultural groups. Different groups included: young punks, senior citizens, yuppies, and hip-hop fans. She would do this by mimicking their styles and mannerisms. 

This photo is from Lee's Hip Hop Project. I think that this image is interesting because the depiction of "Hip Hop" can be seen through the subjects' fashion. The sunglasses and use of chains as necklaces and belts screams Hip Hop to me. The way the people are posing also seems to represent Hip Hop. All of their faces are nonchalant as if they're purposely not smiling, not trying to look happy. They look more dramatic than anything. I think the way that we can see a front car seats changes how a person views the image as well. I find it interesting that she chose to photograph them in a car, I'm guessing this is a choice Lee made, seeing as how the subjects are posing. It makes me wonder if a different setting could have gotten the point of "Hip Hop" across. Personally, I would have gone for a background of street art. 

Robert Frank

 Robert Frank was a swiss photographer that was well known for photographing an outsiders view of America. He was born in Zürich, Switzerland on November 9th, 1924. He died in Inverness, Canada on September 9th, 2019. 

This image is from Frank's book The Americans. A reoccurring theme throughout the book is the use of American flags, and I don't care much for the flag as an American, so I decided to go with a more subtle image. I really like this one because all of the identifiable people in the image are women. Knowing that this series was taken in the 1950's, I would not expect women to be in the forefront of an image. The way they are lined up and the posture each person holds signifies empowerment. Each woman is also holding a different facial expression, but they all seem to be confident. This image appears to be candid, almost as if the women wouldn't stop what they were doing for a photographer. That makes me think that they were expressing that they value their time. I think that this image is a symbol of women's empowerment even if they were still treated as lesser than men.