Be careful what you wish for...
I'm stuck in bed with a cold, and I've been wanting to update my journal for awhile, but the question is, what do I write about? I'm too afraid of who might have access to my journal to be too honest, and posting friends-only is no fun, so I did what any girl might, ask Ryan Gage rdg to tell me what to do. He suggested I make a post about him. After some thought, and a cheeky suggestion from Charlotte, I have decided to do what us art historians supposedly do best, a visual analysis.
A visual analysis of this photo:
Originally taken in color by myself, the subject of this work has now become the author, having appropriated the image and making it black and white. An interesting photograph to consider in the moment of postmodernist discourse concerning authorship, this image takes on new meaning having been altered by the subject. This black and white treatment makes the image one of that bespeaks nostalgia, where is this mysterious sofabed and why is the subject swaddled in blankets when we can see the midday light streaming onto the pillows? Perhaps by altering the image in this way, the subject is seeking a return to childhood and simultaneously memorializing the time in which the photo was taken?
The pyramidal structure of the subject snuggled into the pillows recalls Renaissance painting, but perhaps the most intriguing and disturbing characteristic of this image is the gaze of the subject. Is he smiling uncomfortably for the camera, or have we caught him in a moment of personal reflection or activity? His stare confront the viewer directly but we cannot help but wonder what the secret hides between those eyes?
The whole expression is curious. Obviously the subject is of adult age, but there is something boyish about the way he appears in the image. Are we (the viewing) intruding on a private moment? Is he ill and waiting for his mother to take care of him?
I wish I had more answers for this piece yet when dealing with a subject of this level of mystery, can we ever hope to unlock the secrets of an image like this?
A visual analysis of this photo:
Originally taken in color by myself, the subject of this work has now become the author, having appropriated the image and making it black and white. An interesting photograph to consider in the moment of postmodernist discourse concerning authorship, this image takes on new meaning having been altered by the subject. This black and white treatment makes the image one of that bespeaks nostalgia, where is this mysterious sofabed and why is the subject swaddled in blankets when we can see the midday light streaming onto the pillows? Perhaps by altering the image in this way, the subject is seeking a return to childhood and simultaneously memorializing the time in which the photo was taken?
The pyramidal structure of the subject snuggled into the pillows recalls Renaissance painting, but perhaps the most intriguing and disturbing characteristic of this image is the gaze of the subject. Is he smiling uncomfortably for the camera, or have we caught him in a moment of personal reflection or activity? His stare confront the viewer directly but we cannot help but wonder what the secret hides between those eyes?
The whole expression is curious. Obviously the subject is of adult age, but there is something boyish about the way he appears in the image. Are we (the viewing) intruding on a private moment? Is he ill and waiting for his mother to take care of him?
I wish I had more answers for this piece yet when dealing with a subject of this level of mystery, can we ever hope to unlock the secrets of an image like this?