Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie by Steven Klein
17:01
In my One to One with Ross on Tuesday, one of the photographers he urged me to look into was Steven Klein and his editorial of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie shortly after their film 'Mr and Mrs Smith' was released. This editorial had the feel of voyeurism as you, as the viewer, almost feel like you shouldn't be looking; as though its an insight into their lives taken by someone who they didn't realise was there. There is no engagement with the photographer or the camera. It is purely impartial and unbiased. Its only purpose is to capture, record and document what is going on; an outsider.
The title of the body of work is Domestic Bliss. Some of these images may seem like a happy family however some are just snapshots, images which normally wouldn't be in the public eye, showing another side to marriage which wouldn't have been broadcast to the public eye.
They are a very surreal set of images as they depict Brad and Angelina together married, with a family. It should be noted that at the time in which these images were taken the pair were not involved together romantically and were not until a year later. It is very surreal to see them playing these roles; it has been joked that Steven Klein can predict the future.
The shoot was co-directed by Brad Pitt, and was set to explore the underlying crack in a relationship which so often haunts a seemingly happy couple.
Set in 1963, the year Pitt was born, he chose this as he describes; the squeaky clean 50's were just fading and something more sinister was being revealed.
This image is my personal favourite from the spread of images. It appears to be a family snap, but no engagement or acknowledgment that there was ever someone else present. Its warmly lit, as though it was taken on a warm summers afternoon. This contributes to the idea that its a family photograph. Also it increases the juxtaposition between a happy family and the idea that someone is spying on them, which is quite uncomfortable.
It has a different feel to it than the other images. The photograph to its right and below show
quite traumatic scenes; a mans wife appears to be incapable of looking after herself and he has to step in, whereas the scene of them watching tv makes them seem more mundane; her pose makes her look sympathetic, its a reaction anyone would give to seeing such horror. Her protective arm around herself is shielding her, making her appear vulnerable, in oppose to the image above it in which she looks empowered and strong minded. These two variations to her personality, alongside her seemingly partiality to alcohol demonstrate how many personas she may posses.
Behind closed doors; these images are depicting the struggles of a young marriage, she appears to be under the influence of alcohol and in the top right image above she appears to be incoherent and unable to get herself to bed without help. As a viewer we feel uncomfortable watching this, as though we are spying on their troubled lives. Particularly when the images are black and white, this effect is heightened and it almost objectifies them, as though they are simply being documented and studied as though they are separated from the viewer entirely. This effect is highlighted by the angle the bottom right photograph is taken at; as though it is CCTV watching them, an invasion of privacy.
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