Digital Photography: 2010

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Monday, October 25, 2010

Zwelethu Mthethwa-Interiors- The Studio Museum in Harlem Assignment

Zwelethu Mthethwa, Interiors, Untitled

In this image I see an older African woman in what appears to be her home. Her walls are cluttered with clipping from grocery circulars containing photographs of different foods and house hold items and on occasion the word “SALE” going across the paper. The doorway leading into her bedroom is boarded up on the sides with pieces of cardboard boxes. Her floor has a turquoise colored matting over it. The part of her room that is visible is pretty sparse, containing what appears to be a plain white garbage pale, a bed with a blue blanket and white pillows both of which look dirty, and the same cluttered grocery circular clippings on the wall. The woman herself is wearing a greenish bluish skirt a white shirt with a blue and pink floral pattern and a cloth or bandana on her head. She has her arms over her head grasping onto what appears to be a support beam behind her. She has an expression that is a bit hard to define. It looks like she is worn out, as though she has gone through some type of ordeal and has no more energy to care but at the same time it looks like she has somewhat of a smirk on her face, like a “there’s still hope yet” kind of mentality. The overall photograph is very colorful. The colors are vibrant and almost work as a contrast to the worn out, sad mood created by the image and at the same time it helps to emphasis the idea that this woman still has hope.

This photograph makes me think that this woman is from a poor area. Her clothes are a bit outdated and her home looks like it’s a bit broken down, almost like a work in progress. It makes me think that this woman is alone. Maybe she had a family but some awful tragedy took them away from her and she’s trying to rebuild. Its strange how the composition of the photograph and of the room gives off a feeling of emptiness and being alone in your own cluttered messy world, whereas the colors in the photograph help to represent the glimmer of hope aspect of the photograph. It makes me think that the photograph was well planned out even though it doesn’t appear to be staged. I think that the use of composition contrasts helps to give this photograph a story that has more layers than simply being a sad woman or a woman with hope or a poor woman. It combines many different elements to give this woman a deeper story. It makes her a character with many layers and elements to her personality. This photograph makes me feel sad, empathetic and hopeful at the same time. I feel sad because the woman appears to be down trodden and somewhat depressed. I feel empathy for her because again she looks sad and her surroundings look empty yet cluttered and she looks as though she is alone. I feel hope because of the slight smile the woman is giving and because of the vibrant bright colors used in the scene.

I feel like all of the images from Interiors flowed well together as they were all different portrayals of South Africans from impoverished communities in their domestic settings. All of the photographs looked like they were staged even though they weren’t because of the vibrant colors of all of the photographs. The photos are all informal, with the subjects just standing or sitting in their homes as they would if no one was with them. I found the whole series to be very interesting, very sad, and very beautiful at the same time. I felt that the series “empty beds” was also very strong and sort of complimented the interiors project. The loneliness of the subjects in “interiors” along with the empty beds in “empty beds“which were literally empty and alone went hand in hand with the moods that they both created.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Digital Photography II-Photograph Analysis

Richard Billingham, Ray's a Laugh, Untitled

In this photograph I see an elderly man sitting on the floor next to a toilet. He seems to either be half conscious or asleep. He is dressed in white sneakers, black slacks and a gray sweater and dress coat. His pants are unzipped and his clothing is a bit shabby. The bathroom he is sitting in looks a bit old and dilapidated. The painting on the door is discolored some areas a reddish brown others black, the blue carpet is blackened in certain areas with dirt, the toilet is broken and needs a cleaning and the wallpaper is ragged. There is also a tin canister in the corner that also appears to be grimy.

This photograph makes me think that this man is drunk. There really aren’t many reasons to be sitting next to a toilet except for if you need to vomit and because of the worn out appearance of the man and his surroundings I would guess that he’s not just sick but that his need to regurgitate is due to alcohol. Normally a scene like this would make me think the person is pathetic but the way that the photograph is shot at the same level as the man it makes me feel sympathetic and makes me think that maybe this man is lonely and that is why he has drank himself to this point. By shooting this at his level it makes you feel like you are there with him, like you’re the one taking the photo or taking care of the man. It makes me feel like I know this lonely frayed man.

This photograph makes me feel sad, empathetic, and a little uncomfortable. It makes me feel sad because it makes me think that this man is lonely and sad and that he has no one and so he drinks to fill the void. It makes me feel empathetic because everyone can understand the feeling of being alone and depressed at one time or another, so its just human nature to feel sorry for him and to empathize with his quandary. It makes me feel a little uncomfortable because this is clearly a very personal moment and a somewhat embarrassing one as well. This isn’t exactly the type of photograph of yourself that you would want others to see. It’s a low point in this mans life and its pretty private, not just because he’s drunk and because he gives off an aura of loneliness but also because he’s in a bathroom. The idea of taking a picture of someone while they are in the bathroom is a little strange and awkward. What people do in the bathroom tends to be private and not public domain.

I think that this photograph does compliment the rest of the photographer’s work that I have chosen because Billingham is consistent in the subjects he uses in his photographs (His father, a drunk; his mother, obese and tattooed, his brother, troubled; and the animals his mother likes to take in.) This photograph however is more obvious when it comes to his fathers drinking. Most of the photographs are a bit subtler to this fact by having shot glasses and bottles in the background or taking photos of his father starry eyed. This photograph really implies his father’s drinking problem a lot more than in the other photos. That’s kind of why I chose this one. I felt that this photograph was really raw and personal, more so then the others.