have a higher degree of control over the outcome of
any picture, as he has more tools available to him other
than digital manipulation.A large part of his work is also based on portraits of
famous actors and actresses, such as Robert De Niro
and Lucy Liu. These are either just drawing or once
again this particular combination of drawing and
photography. It is conceptually important to underline
that these people are portrayed as they appeared in
movies and not in the way that they will appear
naturally in a personal portrait. Thus Fitzpatrick delves
into pop culture to create a reference to pictures
created by fans of these stars and combines these
elements into a contemporary approach to painting. It
is a picture which focuses on the persona instead of
the person, something which is also critical of modern
society, as most people correlate to the roles that the
actors and actresses impersonate instead of their real
identities. It is a critical comment on the way that the
entertainment business functions. Another interesting
technical and conceptual feature of these artworks is
that they are a prime example of art within art, a
practice which is not easy to manage, demanding
careful consideration before its realization.
Specifically, Fitzpatrick makes use of pre-existing
images drawn from cinema, reinterprets them through
his drawings and presents them to the public as a new
and personal artistic expression. This multiple filtering
is evident everywhere in our society and is a practice
that, if used correctly, can help us reach deeper layers
of understanding on a given topic.Jim Fitzpatrick delves further into the depiction of
American pop culture, as he has an extensive series ofwork dedicated to professional wrestling, one of the
most popular sports in the U.S.A. Interestingly,
Fitzpatrick is active in this area as early as 1978, when
he worked as a photographer covering such events.
Thus it is a thematic chapter that has an intricate
connection to his evolution as a photographer. The
pictures taken are bold and sharp, often having
extremely high contrast and once again the
photographer might place the figure shot within an
environment alien to it or set on a black background.
Many of the pictures have a profoundly funny side
apart from their actual reference to the sport, an
element which is crucial in the artistic expression of
Fitzpatrick. It is an approach that fully embodies the
extravagant nature of pro-wrestling, a sport which is
not only about wrestling but it also has a particular
lifestyle and character intrinsically tied to it. This
flamboyant style wrestling is portrayed as pure as
possible in these pictures that manage to capture this
essence and bring the viewer closer to this pop-culture
through the eyes of contemporary art.Another exciting chapter of his work as a
photographer is the selection of pictures that portray
animals, especially apes. Fitzpatrick chooses to depict
animals in a way that a portrait artist would represent a
human, rather than in a way reminiscent of
documentary photography. The apes can be seen by
the viewer experiencing their bodies as a human
would, thus blurring the borders between humans and“Remembering the loss of American Soldiers The Vietnam War Memorial”
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“Portrait of a Fire Fighter II”
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