Reading Pictures – Research – Singular Images: Essays on Remarkable Photographs by Sophie Howarth

I am lucky enough to have a copy of this book, reading through the essay I find it focuses on pity for the family in the image. This is repeated a number of times throughout the essay. This is an easy assumption given that Arbus was know for photographing the margins and freaks of society.

I was a simple essay to read which is why I purchased this book in the first place but what I found really interesting was the story behind the image and looking at the smaller signs which is what leads us to pity the family. I feel affronted for them, poor Richard and Marylin Dauria forever immortalised and most likely chosen because they had a disabled child. The child most likely fitting into Arbus’ marginal society category.  We are left to pity rather than celebrate this young family. Maybe Marylin did dream of grander things in life but the fact that at a young age they embraced and accepted the role of raising a child who ,as we are led to believe ,is mentally retarded is an achievement in itself. They still maintain their attempt at imitating their possible role models Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.

What i also find intriguing is where the third child is? Why are they not included in this family scene? I looked at the other image mentioned in the text that was shot in the family home, again there is no third child however this image does not illicit as much pity perhaps this is why this was not the ‘chosen’ image.

Reading pictures – Research point Jeff Wall’s Insomnia

 

Jeff Wall’s , Insomnia (1994)

I found it useful to read Sharon’s blog on the OCA in relation to Jeff Walls Insomnia image. I would not have considered the wider context of art, literature and film , I will try to consider this when completing my assignment and look beyond the digital image to the printed image as this also provides information by the way it is presented.

He is what I understand / see so far:

Denotation – What we can see in the image.

I see a kitchen (Deduced by the cooker, sink, fridge, table and units. I see a man laying on the floor under the table. A window with a reflected light.

Connotation – What we interpret about the image, what might it mean.

I see a cold kitchen, there are no signs of warmth or family. The lighting is harsh, the reflection in the windows suggests it is night-time and there is no view. The image feels sinister and ‘dark’. It is unsettling.

Studium – Cultural, political or social meaning.

Here is where I struggle a little  but the title explains that the image relates to insomnia, the kitchen looks sparse, perhaps the insomnia has affected his social standing in life. Considering the image is dated 1994 the kitchen looks dated  therefore I place the man in the stereotype of lower / working class.

Punctum – Disruptive element to the image which can change the interpretation of the image. Here is where I get a little lost? I am presuming that the punctum is the man laying on the floor.

Jeff Wall’s image Insomnia draws my eyes around the image. I find i look initially to the table , then across the turquoise cabinets to the paper bag on the fridge until finally they rest on the man laying under the table. Every area of the frame is filled with visual clues and information, each time I look I see more than before. The image follows the golden ratio in compostion but is equally divided into thirds horizontally by the floor, the table and the window.

In the foreground is a table which appears to belong to a couple maybe? There are two chairs. The chairs are not matching and one is turned away from the other, could this be symbolic of the relationship? On the table there is a single salt shaker and an ashtray which appears unused. I am left to presume that it is the partner that smokes otherwise I would expect to see stubs left by the insomniac man.

Following across the image is a large old cooker with a small solitary saucepan on top, on the wall above the cooker is a circular mark / stain left by an old wall hanging. A clock I presume, another clue to direct us to his insomnia, Whenever I have been unable to sleep I constantly clock watch to see how much time has elaspsed , perhaps this is what this relates to?

In the background we see very dated turquoise kitchen units, a larder cupboard and small cupboard are left ajar. Was he looking for snacks? Making a drink? Or perhaps he was looking for medicines to help him sleep? The coffee pot on the counter below is empty, Coffee would not help him sleep! The sink appears full as does the draining board. The window above the sink shows the reflection of the stark flourescent light, You can see it is night-time, another clue, there is a fence beyond the window. The room appears walled in, trapped by the fence.. more suggestions.

Looking right there is the fridge on which the paper bag sits, did he pop out to visit a drug store to get something to help him sleep? Did he get food?

Then we look to the man on the floor, he is almost laying a fetal position, actually more of a recovery position. His eyes are open and he looks uncomfortable. His head does not appear to be touching the cushion he is holding under himself, in fact is it a cushion?

Perhaps the title has misled me along with the clues? If I could image this were a bag of frozen peas taken from the freezer held under him , the paper bag held a bottle of liquor from the store then I could image a fight, a tiff, a quarrel. The chairs facing in opposite directions, the missing coffee pot meant to sober him up. Did the partner hide in the cupboard? What could they have fought over?

Without the aid of the title I can see two different narrations to this image.

The image feels very dark and sinister, it reminds me a little of Gregory Crewdsons work in that I find myself looking around the image finding clues to help me build a story.

Project 2 – Reading Pictures

Exercise
Rip out an advertising image from a newspaper supplement and circle and write on
as many parts of the image as you can. Comment on what it is, what it says about
the product and why you think it’s there. You could use this as the basis for your
assignment if you feel it’s taking you somewhere interesting. Or you could adopt this
method for your assignment preparation.
Come back to this exercise when you’ve reached the end of Part Four and see if you
can add anything to your analysis.

For this exercise I have ripped out an Olay eyes advertisement. I am already aware of the Z pattern used in advertising and this image is a perfect demonstration of this. 

My eyes are drawn directly to the models eyes and nose , mainly because they are prominent as well as centrally focused but also because they are the area that has been lit by a light source. This clever use of light ensures that we look are the correct spot in the image then as nature dictates we read left to right so will explore the image in a Z pattern. Therefore my eyes track across the models eyes back to the left over the nose, I then see the text which informs me what the image is about. ‘Eyes should show emotion not our age’ I now understand a little more about the image and as my eyes continue to read from left to right I see that the ‘New’ product Olay eyes can help me show my emotion and hide my age! Conveniently the models skin is flawless with no visible signs of age although to be honest she does yet seem to be of an age that would require wrinkle creams but as a consumer we are supposed to ‘buy in’ to this perception of perfection which cannot be achieved by nature alone (Or so we are lead to believe).