Thanks all for your comments. Very valuable and nice to read how people judge this photo. I will give a bit more context to put this photo in the perspective of what I meant by it.
This is a self-portrait I took when I was working on the photo project Victor, about my son with autism. I then also started reading a lot about that subject and figured I could tick some boxes as well.
For me, this photo sums up in one image what autism means:
- The world is black and white. It's either one or the other
- The world is very straightforward but not in balance
- The world is divided into boxes, everything for structure
- The self-image looks perfectly clear, although this may appear hazy to other people
The lack of symmetry matches the misfigured face but even with the lower half of the face transformed by the glass is the dark pockets where the eyes should be that makes it more intense/dramatic.
Good comments here. Your approach to setting up a discussion around photographs seems to be working.
For me, the image presents a person who is trapped in a depersonalised, institution that might have been design to assist people like him, but has ended up subjecting people to further trauma, despite the relative safety that isolation and surveillance provides. The stark, overhead lighting created deep shadows where we might otherwise see the eyes. This depersonalises the subject and results in a generalised critique of a system, rather than offering a personal story of a particular individual. The boxes, slanted lines, and black and white treatment all suggest an uncomfortable trap or prison. The low placement of the subject in the frame and the obscuring of the lower half of the face suggests that someone is sinking further into his problems. His nose is just above the graphic water line and he is barely able to breath. He's drowning.
This is just a little bit disorienting, and that’s not a criticism. The slightly skewed lines, uneven rectangles, half a face with eyes covered… I am also not sure what to make of this, but I keep examining it. Thats a sign of a worthwhile piece.
The photo makes me think of a prisoner in a secure box in a courtroom, like you’d see in Russia for example. As Lynn said, it has a dystopian feel so I’m not bothered by the angles of the lines or the bright spot….it all adds rather than distracts from that feeling. Overall, I really like it.
I like the way you've divided the frame up into three sections. I'm left a bit unsure what I'm looking at here but get a sense of a urinal and something dark and perhaps unsavory. Technically, I do agree with the previous comments that the big bright spot is detracting, as is that little bit of some other surface in the top right corner which doesn't do much for the image and seems unintentional. I'd personally be inclined to crop the top off so it is about the same height as the bottom section. Graphically, it is something of a mind bender and more than meets the eye. For a moment I think this guy is lying on his back, and I'm looking down into a futuristic box or coffin on the ground. Thematically and symbolically I could wander off into a diatribe about the sharp angular lines of the walls and glass contrasted with the organic more human curves of the man. In that case, that light reflection does echo the rounded shape of his dark eyes and head contrasted to the angles and lines of the other elements. What all that means (if anything at all) is not really apparent to me, but does open an opportunity for contemplation. In that case I'd say it is a successful image in that it is ambiguous enough to allow us viewers to fill in the blanks that resonate for us.
Overall, I like the image. I actually preferred it as I scrolled down and it became a landscape orientation on the screen without the bright light at the top of the image. The landscape orientation without the light then gave a more balanced (for me) feel to the image with similar proportions of the panels to the top and bottom. I like the angled lines; they add to the interest/feel of the image, which feels dystopian.
i like the idea of the photo, i think it's cool. there are 2 things that bothers me:
1. the light bulb (i presume) that is to big and distracting (touching the edge has something to do with this)
2. the lines are angled, you're not in pisa. i do understand that it's hard to take that type of self portrait and try to keep the lines straight without showing the camera in the picture
Thanks all for your comments. Very valuable and nice to read how people judge this photo. I will give a bit more context to put this photo in the perspective of what I meant by it.
This is a self-portrait I took when I was working on the photo project Victor, about my son with autism. I then also started reading a lot about that subject and figured I could tick some boxes as well.
For me, this photo sums up in one image what autism means:
- The world is black and white. It's either one or the other
- The world is very straightforward but not in balance
- The world is divided into boxes, everything for structure
- The self-image looks perfectly clear, although this may appear hazy to other people
I would comment but my daughter has commandeered me to eat pretend pizza 🙄😂
It's an arresting photo with a disturbing quality, which makes it pleasing to the eye.
It's a great idea to add a poll, I really deep dived into the photo to answer the questions!
The lack of symmetry matches the misfigured face but even with the lower half of the face transformed by the glass is the dark pockets where the eyes should be that makes it more intense/dramatic.
Good comments here. Your approach to setting up a discussion around photographs seems to be working.
For me, the image presents a person who is trapped in a depersonalised, institution that might have been design to assist people like him, but has ended up subjecting people to further trauma, despite the relative safety that isolation and surveillance provides. The stark, overhead lighting created deep shadows where we might otherwise see the eyes. This depersonalises the subject and results in a generalised critique of a system, rather than offering a personal story of a particular individual. The boxes, slanted lines, and black and white treatment all suggest an uncomfortable trap or prison. The low placement of the subject in the frame and the obscuring of the lower half of the face suggests that someone is sinking further into his problems. His nose is just above the graphic water line and he is barely able to breath. He's drowning.
love this La Haine vibe
This is just a little bit disorienting, and that’s not a criticism. The slightly skewed lines, uneven rectangles, half a face with eyes covered… I am also not sure what to make of this, but I keep examining it. Thats a sign of a worthwhile piece.
The photo makes me think of a prisoner in a secure box in a courtroom, like you’d see in Russia for example. As Lynn said, it has a dystopian feel so I’m not bothered by the angles of the lines or the bright spot….it all adds rather than distracts from that feeling. Overall, I really like it.
Such a cool photo Marcel, well done! It's intriguing, disruptive, and visually striking. Compliments!
I like the way you've divided the frame up into three sections. I'm left a bit unsure what I'm looking at here but get a sense of a urinal and something dark and perhaps unsavory. Technically, I do agree with the previous comments that the big bright spot is detracting, as is that little bit of some other surface in the top right corner which doesn't do much for the image and seems unintentional. I'd personally be inclined to crop the top off so it is about the same height as the bottom section. Graphically, it is something of a mind bender and more than meets the eye. For a moment I think this guy is lying on his back, and I'm looking down into a futuristic box or coffin on the ground. Thematically and symbolically I could wander off into a diatribe about the sharp angular lines of the walls and glass contrasted with the organic more human curves of the man. In that case, that light reflection does echo the rounded shape of his dark eyes and head contrasted to the angles and lines of the other elements. What all that means (if anything at all) is not really apparent to me, but does open an opportunity for contemplation. In that case I'd say it is a successful image in that it is ambiguous enough to allow us viewers to fill in the blanks that resonate for us.
Overall, I like the image. I actually preferred it as I scrolled down and it became a landscape orientation on the screen without the bright light at the top of the image. The landscape orientation without the light then gave a more balanced (for me) feel to the image with similar proportions of the panels to the top and bottom. I like the angled lines; they add to the interest/feel of the image, which feels dystopian.
i like the idea of the photo, i think it's cool. there are 2 things that bothers me:
1. the light bulb (i presume) that is to big and distracting (touching the edge has something to do with this)
2. the lines are angled, you're not in pisa. i do understand that it's hard to take that type of self portrait and try to keep the lines straight without showing the camera in the picture