AA-2026-03A697
On the image
The 1970s brought forth a particular aesthetic where clarity was optional, replaced by a confident blur. This portrait, an extreme close-up, ensures the viewer focuses on the hexagonal highlights in the subject's eyes rather than her actual features.
It suggests an era where technical precision was sometimes sacrificed for an 'artistic' effect, or perhaps the photographer simply missed the focus. The subject remains an enigma, her expression lost somewhere in the soft diffusion.
The historian's note
This image exemplifies photographic experimentation common in the 1970s, where lens effects and intentional blur were sometimes used to create abstract or ethereal portraits. The hexagonal out-of-focus highlights, known as bokeh, indicate a lens aperture with six blades, a common design for consumer and professional lenses of the period.
This technique often prioritised mood or artistic expression over sharp subject detail, reflecting a broader trend in photographic art of the era.
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Abstract Gaze with Hexagonal Bokeh, 1970s. 1970–1979. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-03A697. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/abstract-gaze-with-hexagonal-bokeh-1970s.
@misc{aaAA202603A697,
title = {Abstract Gaze with Hexagonal Bokeh, 1970s},
year = {1970–1979},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-03A697},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/abstract-gaze-with-hexagonal-bokeh-1970s}
}TY - ART TI - Abstract Gaze with Hexagonal Bokeh, 1970s PY - 1970–1979 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-03A697 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/abstract-gaze-with-hexagonal-bokeh-1970s ER -
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