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6 comments:
I think if you saw just her hand, it would have more impact as "interaction". Both images are so sterile, they set the stage for a subtle gesture to create a big emotional reaction from the viewer. I'm not really feeling it as they are. They do have a very "modern" feel, but I'm not sure they are telling a story. Not that they have to. I'm not taking anything away with me, other than the fact that they are visually appealing. I'm not sure I understand what I am looking at.
I might want to see a little more of the figure on the bottom, as well as more information to substantiate the interaction, but I'm not sure what that is. And I really like the grain. This has a real cut and paste look to it. Thats what reminds me of the Bauhaus work. Its a strange montage of basic shapes and simple tonal patches. Its almost as though there are just three swatches blocked together. And the graphic light bulbs are perfect, especially with the figure up top looking towards them so thoughtfully, like they're his cartoon thought bubbles that come up as he surveys the scene. Knowing that this is the MOMA may be an unfortunate condition for me, because I start to think about the work there and that maybe these figures are interacting with it, but I'm not sure thats the idea. I don't know if I'm supposed to be thinking MOMA, but I do anyway.
Full discloser: I love this picture. Probably my favorite one on the blog yet.
I see interaction everywhere. I don't understand why seeing the bottom figure's hand would substantiate the interaction any more than it already is? The interaction between the man atop and the physical space that surrounds him (as I see him pondering the architecture more so than the actual artwork). The interaction between the lady on the bottom and the corner of the frame (she is headed somewhere but her head was captured by the camera's frame....the only section of the picture where the frame is still there at work, where it hasn't been broken apart by the jagged shapes of the top section). I LOVE that this is all we get with regards to her, as I am so drawn to the one striking eyebrow and her concerned eyes (how did this frame capture my head, and how do I get out!). And just in case we didn't understand the obvious interaction of the photographer and her subjects, we get the artist's after addition of the drawn light bulbs, daring us to dive into the image and try to dissect it. It can be read by the viewer however he/she sees fit, but cannot be fully understood by anyone other than the author. She gives us but a fraction of a person, a deconstructed frame, another person unreadable if not for his pondering arm stance, drawn in light bulbs, and graphic lines and shapes that begin and end where the artist so chooses. It is so beyond a photograph. It is awesome. I can't post my interactions picture because it was from a similar location but falls so drastically short of this one.
I'd like to see yours.
Me too. I agree Derek, this is a really great image, but its not a contest. If you don't like what you have, take another. I want to see your 'interactions' photo - especially since you picked the topic!
We photograph the same things a lot Derek but we each have our own unique and valid approach. We always walk away with two very different images. That's all part of the fun shooting together.
Now stop making excuses and go process your film!
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