The man sitting on the subway seat seems tired, and tired of what we must ask? He holds prescription glasses in one hand, and with his other he grasps his face. In his lap he holds a briefcase with signs of wear on the edges; and we don't know if he is perhaps "tired" of the work-life, or tired in general [with life] or state of being. As he is completely submersed in his own, possibly dispirited state; the police officer next him is submerged in his own authoritative state. The officer pays no attention to the man, he stands tall, speaking affirmatively into his radio. This scene has a visually stark contrast of different and unassociated worlds, and I am attracted to this idea. This photo portrays a daily, impersonal ride home on the subway, but portrays it in a way that forces one self to feel slightly intimate to those in the photo. Meaning to look further, to identify them as actual beings, and blur them into a mass category of "strangers".
Identity; this is the word that strikes me in this photo. The rock-star appeal of the man walking these two foo-foo dogs on the city sidewalk; takes away from the "appeal" I speak of. If you do not look at the dogs in this picture, and instead look solely at the stylish guy, you may think...he seems slightly mysterious, alluring, and attractive. His over the top montage of clothes makes him seem like a character. As if his white sunglasses and fedora wasn't enough-- he had to top it off with a 80's punker jacket. Clearly, he is trying to come off as a badass.
Now avert your attention away from him [the body]; [the character]; and towards these poofy white cotton ball rag-dogs. Not so bad ass. The title of this photo is "Dog-walker" and you must wonder are these his dogs, completely clashing with your idea of him, or is this his profession (still completely clashing with your idea of him). Identity is being played with, who is this person really? The rocker, or the want to be rocker? It challenges our conception of identity, and emphasizes that age old proverb "don't judge a book by it's cover."
There is something so worn about this picture. It takes place on what seems to be an insignificant sidewalk in the city; completely unremarkable; nothing that deems it different from any other street corner in the city. The faces of the two people in the forefront of the photo have skin that has been worn with time and life experience. They're concerned expressions and half-open mouths, lead wonder towards what they are looking at. And we as observers wonder: what could be shocking them now, still, after all they have seen in their lives. Amidst this thought I can't help but note; the young girl in the background seems so disruptive and unknowing in this picture. The older two in the picture are fine-tuned to whatever they may be averting their attention towards, and yet it is the young girl in the background that has no idea about what is going on OR does but does not care. This girl looks, but seemingly has no reaction. As sometimes with age, stereotypes of desensitization are common-- and despite one may think it would be opposite; it is the youth in this picture that is desensitized. For some reason this thought of youth being associated with a lack of care draws me to a comment one of my teachers made in class, "I don't get it, where are you youth today? Rally's and protests go on every weekend in D.C. and yet no one seems to know about it, where are the college kids now? In the sixties, they were everywhere causing a ruckus protesting and caring about politics."
In general I am very attracted to all these photos because of their urban appeal. When I go into the city, and sit on the train ride in, often I am shocked by the mute passengers. No one speaks and there is this real sense of dissociation with strangers. People do not care to be personal or even courteous (in some cases) with strangers. I on the other hand always wonder about other's lives. I always sit and fantasize about what their life must be like based on what little observation I can gather upon seeing them. I really enjoy how this photographer really exploits strangers, to the extent that it forces the observer to feel intimate with those that we try to distance ourselves from.
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Part 2...
from, http://www.motherjones.com/blue_marble_blog/3779_file_Elephant2_Balfour.jpg
from, http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/letting-go-of-the-elephant/
from, http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/12/27/elephants_wideweb__470x285,0.jpg
1 comment:
I LOVE THE DOGWALKER LOL
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