Joel Peter-Witkin at the Chicago Filter Festival

I went to hear Joel Peter-Witkin at Columbia College in downtown Chicago. His photos are controversial to say the least. He was a keynote speaker at the Filter Photo Festival here in Chicago. I would describe some of his photos as shocking and embracing the macabre. His photographs are meant to  expose misogyny and homophobia, and render the marginalized.  But sometimes the line between advocacy and exploitation seems a bit blurred.

However, Peter-Witkin's most honest photographs are of dead body parts, which confront a raw and real struggle with mortality. There was one photo that stood out from the rest. Man Without A Head is a photograph of exactly that.  An anonymous headless body is postured sitting on an inconspicuous object. He is nude down to his dark socks. I don't know if Peter-Witkin put the socks on the body or not. I wished I has asked during the question and answer period. but I didn't. So for now it must remain a mystery.

Man Without A Head shows us a carcase, an empty shell. The headless body is incompatible with life or spirit. It sits there, a lost possession, like a house or a car.  We, in the 21st century have been desensitized about death through horror movies, video games, news feeds, and current events . So it's easy to feel detached from Man Without A Head, that is until you see the socks,  Putting on socks and other clothing is a simple tasks most of us take for granite. It's a common human experience.

Did the man in the photograph put on those socks the last time, knowing it was the last time? Probably not. I have put on socks while thinking of ten things I need to do after I'm dressed and out the door. The familiarity of the socks adds a little compassion to the shocking gruesomeness. The connection is powerful. Man, shows us the frailty and transience of the human condition