William Mortensen seems preoccupied with sexual themes in his work. He is often contrasting ideal beauty with ideal ugliness. In my view he is contrasting a kind of idealized existence that humans imagine themselves living in against the real ugliness and indifference of life. His work is arresting. And there is a voyeur aspect to it. And in that sense we are on the outside looking in. The viewer is not part of either of Mortensen’s views (beauty/ugly) (madonna/monster). Mortensen’s work is all photographic. By that I mean he doesn’t appear to use cut and paste.
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