i feel like Colin Pantall's sofa portraits have popped up on almost every photo blog i read. that in itself is really interesting. i like the series, of Pantall's daughter watching television, a lot. i like the juxtaposition of her zonked-out look and some of the classical poses he finds her in... i like the fact that you can never see the television but its presence is so powerful in the shot. in a way, her gaze is so fixed that it troubles the artist-subject-viewer triangle and brings the TV into the picture as another player in the dynamic.
Colin Pantall has a blog himself, and has tracked other blog readers' responses to his work. it's so funny to see how differently people react to his work based on context and the comments of their peers: A Photo Editor's readers think the portraits are gorgeous and honest, but these folks think they are disturbing images of child molestation and abuse.
there is something a bit disturbing, in a way, about these photos, but it's interesting to see how uncomfortable some folks are with feeling disturbed...and quick to point fingers of blame for how they feel.
(Pantall is represented by Witzenhausen Gallery. I've seen the sofa portraits featured on Conscientious (the trend-setter here i think), A Photo Editor, J-Walk, Metafilter, etc.. etc...)
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