The Freakishly Empathetic Photos of Diane Arbus

The iconic American photographer Diane Arbus is remembered for her extraordinary and arresting images of society’s outcasts — giants, dwarves, nudists, and various other Others. She used a classical style, placing her subjects in the center of the frame, though her subjects were far from the typical subjects of portrait photography.

Although some critics charge Arbus with exploiting her subjects, she developed intimate and trusting relationships with the people in her photographs. This personal emotional commitment, a sense of empathy and understanding for her subjects, is tangible in Arbus’ work.

Arbus set out to explore the darker side of prosperous postwar America. Her subversive, daring photographs brought marginal characters into the light, like the uncanny return of the repressed. As she explained in an interview with Studs Terkel, “I think there are things that nobody would see unless I photographed them.”

Arbus’ early work is currently the subject of an exhibit at the Met Breuer in New York City that runs through November.

This storyoriginally aired on theFishko Files. It was produced by Sara Fishko, edited by Karen Frillman and mixed by William Moss. Thanks to the Studs Terkel Radio Archive for the recording of Diane Arbus.