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Magazine
Iconic Photographers - Platon Antoniou

by Editor Peter Davidson
Edited and published by Yvette Depaepe, the 16th of November 2023

 

 Platon Antoniou

 

Our iconic photographer this week is a British lensman known more simply as Platon Antoniou.
Born in 1968 in Greece, Platon studied for his Master of Fine Arts at the Royal College of Arts and began his career in the fashion and portraiture fields of photography before then moving to America. There he expanded into more commercial work and eventually became a staff photographer for The New Yorker. During this time he became more involved with civil and human rights and he founded the People's Portfolio, a non profit organization which aims to raise awareness of oppression in all its forms. 

 

Platon has a style which in some cases almost goes against first principles of portraiture in that he often, but not always, uses a wide angle lens in many of his shots for not only impact, but also for creating a sense of intimacy. You are very close to the subject, a little unnerving yet not distanced. Then there is the uncluttered directness of view, leaving only an uncompromising and detailed inspection of the face and expression. His work reminds me in many ways of the late great photographer Karsh of Ottawa, who also managed to capture the great and the good (and bad) in a strong and uncompromisingly direct style. In fact his portrait of Putin has become a symbol and been banned by the Russian authorities due to its use in many anti-government articles. 

 

Platon gave a TED talk and I will put the link HERE. It's worth the time to watch and learn a little of how he works and what he attempts to achieve. 


The selection of portraits taken by Platon below are of people I don't think will need any explanation as to who they are. 

 

 

 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
Write
outstanding presentation. Bravo!
I've seen the dedicated film from the Abstract series, Art of Design, on Neflix, twice : ). Fascinating journey and, as the whole story shows, Platon is a fearless artist whom I greatly admire.Thank you for this beautiful article and congratulations for such an outstanding artwork! <3
I am a fan of Platon portrait !!!