Identity - Family - Tina Barney

Identity - Family - Tina Barney

Family Tableaux Portraiture Photographer

By Rebeka Schmieder

Tina Barney is an American photographer based in New York. Her work presents dramatic tableaux family portraiture and snapshots. She explores the conventions society puts on families and then completely rejects them.  Barney’s work has been shown in prestigious art museums and galleries national and international. She had a solo exhibition at both the Whitney Biennial (1987) and MOMA (1991).  Barney was one of the first photographers to tackle  large scale color printing when she began working in the early 1970's. 

Barney’s work is confrontational and hypnotic. Her subjects engage with the viewer in a humanistic way. Their gestures and the scenery make the photographs relatable. In her series “Theatre of Manners” Barney projects the ideas of family in the simplest manner. It feels like the photos are capturing a split second of reality and intensifying the relationship between the camera and person or people. The emotions appear real and almost tangible. Although her work may be directed, the figures, personalities and self-expression show through the shot. I believe that photographing her family and friends make her work stronger, emphasizing the personal connection between the photographer and the one being photographed. 

Barney shoots mainly on 4 x 5 and 8 x 10 cameras. Over the past 5 years, she has also shot with a digital camera. Shooting on large format cameras allows her photographs to have the detail they need. To connect, with not only the subjects, but also the space. She said, “I want the prints to feel like a movie screenshot quality.”

Although I have not paid close attention to the human form in my photographs, Barney has inspired me to now consider the importance of the  relationship between two subjects in the frame. 

http://www.tinabarney.com