Nadia Abudalu

Nadia Abudalu
Ray F. Herdon
"Ritual Suicide," Gelatin Silver print

1963

This image is of a Buddhist monk who set himself on fire in protest against governmental anti- Buddhist policies. The time period was the Vietnam War and 1963. I chose this image because it is so contradictory to American ways of thinking and protesting. American protests are loud and verbal and aggression is often directed outward, quite the contrary to what is depicted here: this horrific, yet calm scene. The concept of suicide in American culture is one that is often private and frowned upon. Americans view suicide as tragic and something that should be fixed or stopped. It is clear that no one experiencing the moment is trying to intervene. Personal issues tend to drive the western mindset to harm-of-self rather than concern over greater political or social issues. I wonder if this manifestation is due to the self-absorbed nature of consumer and western cultures verses the social and community-based thinking in many places in the rest of the world.

Bilal Zantout

Bilal Zantout
Ayman Traoui 
Beirut's Memory (2003)

Following the Civil war in Lebanon, photographer Ayman Traoui, historian and photographer was hired by the Lebanese government to take photos of the ruins. He documented the capitol of Beirut and took dramatic pictures that highlighted the beauty of the ruined city. The picture I have picked is a one of children playing in a car that was previously set of fire during the start of the war. Playing in the ruins is ironic and hilarious. Like the ruins of Rome North East of Beirut this street has so much beauty. I made an exposure of a Mercedes-Benz with a garden growing out of it. It's a wonder can rise from the ruins of time and war.

Mauricio Longines

Mauricio Longines
Alfred Eisenstaedt, "V-J Day in Times Square"
1945, Gelatin silver print

This image is a wonderful reminder of what photography really is to me. To me photography is about capturing a moment, and this image depicts a wonderful and historical moment that will live on for decades to come. Some of the best photos I have taken have been "in the moment" or "random" photos just like this one. Alfred Eisenstaedt did not plan to take this photo and wasn't expecting to. But, he was at the right place at the right time and was able to deliver us an iconic photograph. What I find very amusing is the fact that Eisenstaedt still kept in mind composition, contrast, and the surroundings. He even mentions in one of his books that he would not have taken this image if the sailor wasn't wearing dark clothing, or the nurse wasn't wearing white clothes. Sometimes when it comes to photography you just have to let go and live in the moment, and that is when some of the best photographs come to exist.

Nancy Hernandez

Nancy Hernandez

"Robert Mapplethorpe, Barry"

1983, Photographs, vintage silver gelatin print

"Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subject", said Robert Frank. Who doesn't love black and white photography especially of a very attractive young man who is showing a bit of skin. Only having the image focus on the body and partial of his pubic hair makes me want to see more, makes me wonder who is the man behind this body. Who dared not show it all? Why just show his chin? Why not his face? This image was created in the early 80's when photographer Robert Mapplethrope began photographing the nude. Mapplethorpe was known for his large scale of  stylized black and white photographs, but also for his formal and technical compositions. 

Mapplethorpe started making images in the early 70's using a polaroid camera. His inspiration was mainly portraits of his friends, different celebrities, and himself. He also enjoyed making images of flowers. He can take one simple subject but make me wonder a thousand things. I selected this image because it caught my attention. I love that the photographer didn't show more. This image to me means that is okay to have secrets from others. It's okay if you want to be someone with certain people, and someone else on your own time. I love choosing how to live my life, and not worrying about what others think. So this image keeping his face from me signify that every human being is allowed to choose their path in life.

Regienick Canta

Regienick Canta
Chris Johns, "John and Josie Adams"
1980s

Chris Johns started his career as a field reporter before becoming an editor-in-chief for the National Geographic Magazine. In this photograph, Johns captured James caring for his mother, Josie, inside an old car situated on the hilltop in British Columbia.

The photo depicts the documentation by Johns about the North American society being once renowned for its transportation, a car being its symbolic figure. Johns also cleverly identified through this photo the emerging ecological issues that National Geographic Magazine became more watchful of during the 1980s, also the time when this photo appeared in the magazine.

Although the photo was specifically taken to document the North American mobility, the photo tells me a different story. The whole image rather gives me a visual representation of what a genuine treasured moment free from the influence of material things really is. The two smiling individuals framed by the car window share a happy moment despite of being encased in a broken and nonfunctional car. It is hard not to notice that love truly is the key element in this strong mother-and-son bonding moment.

As a family-oriented guy, seeing individuals valuing each other more than anything else reminds me of how wonderful it is to live surrounded by love ones even through the test of time.

Leticia Lourenco

Leticia Lourenco
Uta Barth, "Field #23"
1958, Acrylic lacquer on canvas

I chose this image because of the idea behind the whole series, the Field, which Uta Barth crafted using the photographic blur. The work brings a feeling of a missing element - the foreground. The highlights of the image are so curious, they give me the sensation of a watercolor texture. The warm and organic color palette, combined with the dimensional shape made by the wall and its shadow creates a visually appealing atmosphere.

The series' idea of removing the foreground element and having the background by itself relates in somehow to the photographic moment we are living right now. When we take a "travel selfie" with some iconic background right behind our smiles, it makes me have the same feeling. I usually don't care about the face there, my mind filters it, and what I actually see is a blurred background of a random place in Europe, Asia or any other part of the world.

Lexie Sosa

Lexie Sosa
Keegan Allen, "Black and White Noir Episode"
2014

This vintage photograph was taken by actor Keegan Allen while he was working on an old-Hollywood style episode of his show. This is one of his co-stars. The black and white image, the styling of the woman's hair, dark lipstick, textured dress all make me consider what more there is than meets the eye. You can interpret the way she is feeling by looking at her eyes. She seems innocent but at the same time very curious. We can see she is probably in a living room at the bottom of the stairs, perhaps waiting for someone. It is an ode to old-Hollywood and a combination of modern day technology with classic styles and technique.

Mario Leal

Mario Leal
Steve McCurry, "Yanesha, Peru"
2004

This picture was taken by Steve McCurry, a magnum photographer who has done work for National Geographic in many developing countries. In finding this photograph I was truly surprised because at first glance the gun looked real. After doing some research I discovered that the child was found crying on the side of the road in a village in Peru. The child was crying because some of the older children were tormenting him. It led him to raise the toy gun to his head. Its a scary thought to believe that something so simple could bring about such a reaction in a child. The elements in this photograph are really about contrasts. Every difference magnifies the effect of its opposite. The black stands out to the white. The white stands out to the black. The blue paint on the wall matches the boys worn out spiderman graphic. Steve McCurry sharpens the boys eyes making the audience feel his sorrow.

Erick Cuevas

Erick Cuevas
Pedro Tzontémoc, "XXIV Lisboa, Portugal" in series "El ser y la nada"
2001

I chose this image because of my fascination with deceptively simple images. At first glance, it appears to be a demonstration of strong contrast and symmetry, but when given the proper amount of time to observe, the viewer realizes it contains so much more. The photographer created this image in a series with the goal to capture both the greatness and the fragility of man. I believe he has succeeded.

The human silhouette contrasts with an immense man-made space, centering the image. The figure has gone from one end in the confines of a tunnel, a true feat of human ingenuity, into the nothingness and the uncertainty of blinding light. I found it brilliant the photographer created a statement of the hollowness of man's search to construct meaning out of their lives to feel whole, within the literal sense of hollowness, a tunnel. The meditative and sparse nature of this image allows me to better take in a concept that usually makes me uneasy and nags constantly in the back of my mind.

Cassandra Sanchez

Cassandra Sanchez
William Rosenblum, "Girl on Swing"
1938

Judged by her body and not by her mind. She's insecure, emotional, dependent, a bitch when speaking freely, is everyone just blind?

The photographer William Rosenbloom took this photo of a girl on a swing in 1938 in hopes to promote the theme of his group, the Photo League; the goal was to capture the human spirit triumphing through one's struggle in the urban environment. Rosenbloom's skill to extend and dramatize the content through his strong diagonals (of the swing) and dark contrast (in the bridge), both emphasizing the subject, the girl.
 

Courage is illustrated through this little girl - she is not sitting on a swing like society enforces, but standing on it, ready for what the world has in store for her. The girl represents the journey that every woman, must face. Since discrimination limiting women so blindly occur everywhere, we must reach beyond the path made for us and take a stand in order to achieve greatness.

Jim Craine

Jim Craine
William Mortensen, "Fear"
1927, halftone reproduction

William Mortensen’s Creative Pictorialism techniques and subject matter contrasted greatly with the “straight” or “purist” photography of his contemporaries Adams and Weston. He utilized literature, art history and psychology to create his images and then further modified and manipulated the image during the development and printing processes – in direct opposition to the realists who emphasized the purity of their image. For this, Mortensen was attacked and shunned by Adams and his f/64 group, Adams even saying, “to us, Mortensen was the anti-Christ.” He fell out of favor, his work was pulled from exhibitions and museums at the behest of Adams and the Adams clique wrote him out of the history of photography. Mortensen found favor though in the demimonde of photography, creating his most striking images of the monstrous, the grotesque, the nude and the occult. He opened the Mortensen School of Photography in Laguna Beach, teaching his distinctive techniques to a new interested in the expanding the boundaries of modern photography.​

Charles Schaefer

 

Charles Schaefer

Rachael Baran, "Hello?'

May 5, 2012, published on the web

I chose this image because its story had startled me. It captured warped reality, chaos, and despair beautifully. It tells the story of an abusive partner who creates dismay and leaves the scene of the crime as if nothing had happened. This image struck me because of it's perspective. The camera is placed on its side, however the main subject is positioned vertically upright even though she is laying horizontally on the floor. There is a strong blurry foreground which indicated confusion to me. The middle ground, the area of highest contrast, contains the broken subject who alludes to a damaged expression. The background, the area of second highest contrast, tells the story of a vanishing friend, possibly a lover, who is not so caring. This type of pain is too common in our world.

Philip Michalowicz

Philip Michalowicz

Ian Berry, "Whitby, Yorksire"

1978, gelatin silver print

"A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you

control it." - John Steinbeck from Travels with Charley: In Search of America

My time at a misty North Carolina boarding school broadened my sense of adventure and developed my appreciation for topographical heights. During high school, I learned that a misty morning on a bald mountain might surpass the beauty of the twinkly city lights seen from atop Mulholland Drive.

Ian Berry made this image near the end of his career, having returned home to England after experiencing and capturing critical moments of all sorts across the globe. He emphasizes our instinctively comfortable relationship with the natural world with the figure of a sun-flushed young man. And I am whisked away in an instant to the sun-drenched hillsides of our hundred acre wood. For a contemporary audience, the photo most importantly demonstrates how crucial the journey is, and how unpredictable a day can be when you stop darting between destinations and take a deep breath.

Melissa Gonzalez

Melissa Gonzalez
Unknown, "Woman and Operation"
1975

This image was a part of a series in a book that I was looking through of a mixed media artist. It was the one that caught my eye first since it was the one that had a baby drawn on her stomach. So this image alone, at first glance I thought it was a fetus, but it's not. It looks like a full term baby and then I began to think about what it could mean.

The drawing signifies both life and death. One possibly meaning that the woman is expecting a child and it signifies an entirely new chapter in her life. Or another being the drawing could signify the memory of a past pregnancy that might have gone well and she is thinking back to fondly, or it's the memory of a loss. The black and white photograph is somber, the face of the women is not shown, the intimacy of privacy and only her torso are left for the viewer, without her identity shared.

Jorge Rodriguez

Jorge Rodriguez
Holly Andres, "The Red Purse"
2008, 25x20 inches

The image is from Andres, "Sparrow Lane" series, a narrative of young women on the verge of adulthood. Andres says she is, "drawing on the formal and thematic conventions of Nancy Drew books, 1970s horror films and Alfred Hitchcock, the series depicts girls in search of forbidden knowledge."

I selected this image in hopes to recreate it successfully. I was intrigued with the use of lighting, and the way the subjects are highlit within the darkened room, the contrast between the warm and cool colors and way the light shines from the purse onto the girls face and captures her expression.

Andrew Chavez

Andrew Chavez

Neil Folberg "Jaffa Road from Kikar Zion"

1982, Dye destruction print

I selected this image because it appeared to be familiar. After sometime looking, I realized that it reminded me of a favorite spot here at home, Venice beach. Even though there are so many signs, I am unable to read them. But, even here in California, where I know the language, I find that I am overwhelmed with signs and often unable to read any of them.

Michelle Dena

Michelle Dena

Boogie "Queensbridge, Queens"

2004, Black & White Print

I selected this image because it speaks to me about emotion, as I look at each window I wonder what each household is emotionally going through. It's the kind of mystery that I would love to spend some time trying to unravel. 

It is the architecture that makes it seem that everything is so close but so far apart. Not everything can be silenced behind the glass. The windows are transparent and so may also be the people trying to hide behind them. It is this contrast that makes one be a wanderer. It invites the viewer to pay attention to the little things in everyday life.

As I look at each window, the light and shadow remind me of the battles we go through every day.

Indre Kupczynski

Indre Kupczynski

Floria Sigismondi, Untitled (from her book, Immune)

2005

I chose this diptych because it juxtaposes subjects in a way that almost creates a sense of discomfort to the viewer. Sigismondi draws a parallel between innocence and youth and the chilling reality of war. This creates a strong statement because we have become so used to seeing images of war that society has become largely desensitized to graphic material—however seeing it in a perspective (especially one involving children) reminds one of the harsh reality they have become so used to ignoring.  The warm background light over the hills contrasts the cooler light on the masks that creates the hard shadows on the sides of the faces.  The slight overexposure of highlight also adds to the harsh soviet aesthetic. 

Deserie Flores

Deserie Flores
Jeff widener, "Tank Man"
1989

I selected this image because it speaks to me about rebellion and standing up for what you believe in even if it means standing alone when all odds are against you. Photo journalist, Jeff Widener, made this image of a man who stood in front of tanks when the Chinese military were forcefully trying to putting an end to Tianamen Square Protest. Even though it is obvious that the tanks can easily take him down, the man stands firmly and holds his position without intimidation. In a video taken by a spectator the tanks later moved to the side to pass. For me this image did not stand out because of technique, but because of the message it portrayed.

Nadia Mattis

 

Nadia Mattis

Bill Arnold, Dennis (Car)

1969, Gelatin Silver Print

 "I stopped to look at where I was." This simple observation has informed and crystallized Bill Arnold's approach to making pictures for nearly forty years. He believes there is poetry in prosaic everyday occurrences, and that his role as an artist is to find and fix those moments into pictures. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, Arnold pursued photography as a means of creating personal documents where atmosphere, gesture, and mood were prized over the recording of facts, or the investigation of a particular subject or theme.

I chose this image because of its uniqueness, simplicity and wonderful light and shadow, which stands out immediately.  The picture is slightly out of focus but photographer captured the moment absolutely amazing. What I like about this image is a wonderful light that hits the car on the left and also reflected light from the street on the side of the car, that creates an illusion of movement.

Devin De Leon

Devin De Leon
Helmut Newton "Hand in Shoe"
1991 Gelatin silver print

With the flick of a wrist or the press of a button one who is skilled enough can make an image appear as something that its really not. At first glance this image appears to be a woman's leg placed on a table, but it is only her hand in her shoe. Photographer Helmut Newton was famous in the fashion industry for his beautiful images. He mostly worked in black and white. I genuinely enjoyed this image because it made me question everyday perception.

Julia Viadero

Julia Viadero

Daido Moriyama, "Route 16, Yokota"

1969, gelatin silver print 

Daido Moriyama's photograph, "Route 16, Yokota", evokes themes of nostalgia and moments past. The deliberate use of grain and high contrast represent the way in which people may recollect memories of their past. Grainy and unclear, this photograph feels like a dream or a brief glimpse of a broken memory.

Throughout his career, Moriyama often focused on capturing raw, authentic images that defined a new, post-war Japan. The playfulness and simplistic "day-to-day" nature exhibited in this photograph embody this overall idea. 

Michelle Dena

Michelle Dena

Boogie "Queensbridge, Queens"

2004, Black & White Print

I selected this image because it speaks to me about emotion, as I look at each window I wonder what each household is emotionally going through. It's the kind of mystery that I would love to spend some time trying to unravel. 

It's the architecture that makes it seem that everything is so close but emotionally there so far apart. Not everything can be hidden behind a pair of glass windows. I know after all the windows are transparent and so are the people trying to hide behind them. It's the negative contrast that makes one be a wanderer. It invites the viewer to pay attention to the little things in everyday life.

His work has been an inspiration to me. I love the emotions I get as I look at each window. The light and shadow of this image reminds me of the battles we go through every day.

Ajalah Tate

Ajalah Tate
Francesca Woodman, "Self-Deceit #4"

1978, gelatin silver print

"There is a face beneath this mask, but it isn't me. I'm no more that face than I am the muscles beneath it, or the bones beneath that." -Steve Moore

This photo represents the never-ending search for self. The balance between identifying what to value about your nature versus what society tells you matters most. Having her face covered by a mirror reflecting back the images that come in contact with it as if what might emerge from behind the façade is irrelevant. At the same time Woodman's body is completely exposed and vulnerable, yet never fully emerging from the background.

Simply merging, becoming just another faceless body to be scrutinized by the masses, but her mind… her mind is hers to keep her thoughts her own to cherish their value known only to the one who conjured them. Self love, that which is most important. 

Skyler Adams

Skyler Adams
Bob Willoughby, "Roy Eldridge performs at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles"
1950

Although Bob Willoughby became famous for his images capturing the essence of Hollywood and its stars, I consider his best work to be found in his collections of Jazz photography. I feel that these are his best images because he had a strong appreciation and love for the art form.

What initially drew me to this image was how the man, famous Jazz musician Roy Eldridge, stood out from the darkness in a brilliant white suite, as if he, like his music, was a beacon in the darkness. I love how empty the image first appears to be, as if Roy is playing his trumpet into an empty night sky with no audience in sight. As I peer at Roy from behind the curtain backstage I can't help but feel I am intruding on his private world. This is his moment in the spotlight, alone on stage performing what he loves for an unseen, unknown audience.

Jazz is full of powerful emotions and soul filled music, and to me this image shows that Jazz is just as much an experience for the performer as it is for the audience.

Vanesa Castaneda

Vanesa Castaneda
Philip-Lorca diCorcia "Alice"
1988 Extacolor print

Philip-Lorca diCorcia once said, "The more specific the interpretation suggested by a picture, the less happy I am with it." His work demonstrates a moment in time that was captured. A piece of work that captured my attention was "Alice," photographed in 1988. What intrigued me about this picture was the solitude of the woman shown at a certain time and place. To me this picture demonstrates a moment of tranquility.

By having her eyes closed, she is lost in her own world. Something that I can relate to sometimes.

Noelle Quito

Noelle Quito

Lewis Wickes Hine, "Boy with Bicycle"

1913

This photograph was taken by Lewis Hine in Waco, Texas in 1913.  Hine was known for being a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee.  This was a time when child labor was popular and practiced.  His work was dangerous as he was threatened by the industries because he was exposing their little secret - child labor.  This photo intrigues and touches me because this photo represents freedom.  The bicycle represents a mode of transportation to go any where the child wanted.  The cigarette represented adulthood and maturity.    Although I am not a smoker, I am a cyclist.  Cycling gives me the freedom to go to places I want to go to.  It also allows me to make my own decision on how to react to cars, pedestrians, and stop lights; and to me, making your own choices show adulthood. 

Samantha Millan

 

Samantha Millan

Andrew Birkin, "Charlotte Gainsbourg with Cigarette"

1977

I selected this image because her face immediately caught my attention – worry. She is worried that she is getting caught or she is worried of what will happen to her if she doesn't do what she is told. I began to question this image because of the audacious object she holds in her hand – a cigarette. In our generation this image can be interpreted several different ways. This can be a foreshadowing picture of 2015 where children are growing up faster than they are supposed to. Or by her haunting look, it can show how easily children are peer pressured into doing things they don't want to do, but they wouldn't be considered "cool" if they don't give in. Or holding the cigarette can be a metaphor for death because second hand smoking causes more deaths than actual smoking. Either way, children are being affected in negative ways as years go by. And it needs to change.

Maggie Ayala

Maggie Ayala
Nan Goldin, "DAVID BY THE POOL AT THE BACK ROOM, PROVINCETOWN"
1976, cibachrome print on perspex

The photo I chose is from Nan Goldin. I selected this photo because I really enjoyed the color palate. You can see many things happening, but ideally, the main focus is on David. The way he is reclined on the chair makes him look relaxed. Although he looks relaxed, it is a mystery on how he actually is feeling. His sunglasses hide his real emotion, which can be compared to those individuals who smile every day to hide their own. A smile can be deceiving because you really do not know if they actually mean it or are using it as an act that everything is okay.

Kwesi Ogunde

Kwesi Ogunde
Lee Friedlander "New York City, 1966"
gelatin-silver print printed in 1973

Lee Friedlander, an American photographer born on July 14, 1934 who became known for his ability to photograph the social landscape of the environment that he lived in.

 

The images that I tended to gravitate towards were his self-portraits because they are generally considered taboo in photography. I enjoyed them due to his black and white style and use of shadows within his photos. I also liked that there was a disturbing darkness to his images, which reminded me of a 1960's horror film. The self-portrait taken in 1966 was my favorite because I can interpret it in two different ways each time I look at it. I can look at it one way, seeing a man who feels invisible to people around him and only views himself as a shadow to others. I can also look at it another way and see that Friedlander is actually having fun with his photographs by playing his own unique joke on others around him.

Fengzhu Liu

Fengzhu Liu

Rinko Kawauchi, " Kid's eye"

2003, Utatane

I selected this image because it speaks about a moment. The light in the image really attracted  me. The light in this image was warm and made me think of my childhood. And the background was out of focus and made a comfortable environment. This image is like "listening" the world, it made the time frozen and I like the details in the image.

Cassandra Sanchez

Cassandra Sanchez
William Rosenblum, "Girl on Swing"
1938

Judged by her body and not by her mind. She's insecure, emotional, dependent, a bitch when speaking freely, is everyone just blind? 

 

The photographer William Rosenbloom took this photo of a Girl on Swing in 1938 in hopes to promote the theme of his group, the Photo League; the goal was to capture the human spirit triumphing through one's struggle in the urban environment.

Looking at this photo, Rosenbloom's skill to extend and dramatize the content can be seen through his strong diagonals of the swing and dark contrast with the bridge, to emphasize the subject, the girl.

In my interpretation, the idea of courage shown through this little girl, who is not sitting on a swing like society enforces, but standing on it, ready for what the world has in store for her is absolutely aspiring. The girl represents the journey that every woman, must face. Since the discrimination of women's limitations is so blindly occurring everywhere, we must reach beyond the path engraved for us and take a stand in order to achieve greatness.

Achelle Peinado

Achelle Peinado

Bill Brandt, "Hands on the Beach" 

1959, gelatin silver print

Bill Brandt's photo Hands on the Beach reminds me of the connection between man and nature. The repetition of the fingers and pebbles makes this hand look like a part of the environment. This photo looks so far away from the digital, busy city life that most are engulfed in. We are organic and just as pure as the pebbles, leaves, sand and ocean around us. 

This photo serves as a reminder that people are connected to this natural world.  We get stuck in our concrete jungle and forget where we derived from. There is a disconnect as a result of human righteousness and self-involvement. Sure in the grand scheme we are much different than a pebble, but there is an unexplainable energy that connects us with everything on earth. 

Qi Zhang

Qi Zhang
Larry Chen "Mustang Meltdown"
2015

I selected this image because it shows the fusion of two completely different atmospheres. This image is all about contrast--color, movement, even the emotion, between a peaceful after-snow town and a drifting race car. They should not fit each other but in this image this combination looks so natural. At this moment, the wild car breaks the peace of the small town, at the same time the small town and the snow calms the car down.

Just like our life, full of contrasts.

Jeremy Miller

 

Jeremy Miller

Phillippe Halsman, "Untitled" 

1959

I really enjoy this simple yet elegant photo of Marilyn Monroe shot by Philippe Halsman. Usually you would see a photo like this on social media, of a bunch friends or family trying to time their jump perfectly for the camera, but this one image in particular is one of the best. In 1959 it was rare to see these types of photos especially of a model and actress. Today you may see an image like this of a celebrity but it would be no surprise. This image in my opinion is a lot better than a typical photo-shoot or headshot. In the moment of her jumping in the image you can see her true excitement and child like playfulness. It also humanizes her or anyone that would be caught mid jump. Halsman did a series called 'Jump' that this shot was included in. He has many images of celebrities from that time just doing the simple act of jumping. There may be a lot of pictures now that catch people mid air of jumping, but it doesn't compare to the number of pictures of people just standing and smiling for a camera. Having someone jump brings out that true smile and excitement that anyone would have.

Ashley Kritzer

 

 
Ashley Kritzer
Duane Michals, "The Unfortunate Man"
1976, Gelatin silver print

This Photograph was taken by Duane Michals, in 1976. This picture was captured during a time in which homosexual relations was not accepted. This photo symbolizes the silence that one feels when not accepted by other due to societal norms. The angle in which this photograph is taken can show the inferior perspective of how society looks down on homosexual relationships. In addition the colorless photo is one less element of the picture that are seen by human eyes just as people often times ignore homosexual people. This inspiring image brings me to the year 1880 when the use of sign language was banned from all classrooms while the oral method of teaching out numbered the votes for being the preferred method. The social norms prohibited deaf people from signing thus causing a form of silence over their hands. Duane Michals captures the utterly beautiful piece of art that still hold true for our society. Not everyone in society will accept the concept of humans loving one another regardless of sexual orientation.