Joanna Paul. From the series: Portaits of New Zealanders
Artist and role
Martyn, Adrienne (New Zealand, b.1950), Artist
Date
1983
See full details
About this work
Joanna Paul commissioned Adrienne Martyn to take this portrait early in 1983 at the beginning of her tenure of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship at the University of Otago. Martyn had taken her portrait a few years earlier in her domestic kitchen studio. She decided this new portrait should reflect the changing circumstances of Paul’s life. Paul, Martyn has recalled, ‘was brimming with a new-found sense of independence’ and ‘was very different from the Joanna of the earlier photograph’. So Martyn chose to take a close-up portrait in the neutrality of the studio and to exclude all detail in the surroundings by using directional studio spotlighting. ‘Joanna,’ she said, ‘wore lipstick and a little eye makeup and black clothing. This stark and simple presentation was unusual for her and it pointed up her beauty. It was a great photo session.’ The final print is notable for the contrasting richness of the blacks, the subtlety of the skin tones and the thoughtful poise of the subject.
Measurements
198 x 115 mm image size
Artist
Credit
Collection of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Purchased 1983 with funds from the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Society.
Accession number
58-1983
