Before I got a computer, finding out about out-of-the-mainstream subjects was a lot more labor intensive. Lately I’ve been thinking about art that made an impression on me in my college days, and this led me to wonder about the photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard. His photographs were fleetingly covered in one of my classes, lo those many years ago, but his images made an indelible impression on me—so enigmatic, some might say disturbing. Unlike the photographs of Diane Arbus, however, I didn’t feel uncomfortable and had to look away. I think this has to do with the fact that many of his subjects wear masks as props…Beyond the masks, though, the compositions are so carefully constructed & elements within them seem to have a purpose. I didn’t know much about him & wondered about him as a person, so I started investigating him. Although I didn’t find out much about the reasons behind the choices he made, I did learn that he was someone who lived & created his work outside of what you would call the hub of the art circles. He was a family man who lived in Kentucky and was an optician by trade. In his spare time he worked on his art. When you look at his photographs you can make your own interpretations about what you’re seeing.
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