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talia:
wow. it's wonderful. the beard, and the stripes on the suit. doesn't feel stereotyped, in part because, as you mentioned, i have no context. is this another negative from your collections?
did you want her face to be pale and ethereal? it kind of makes it look like they're looking at heaven, or something, you know, like in the movies. unless that's the effect you're trying to create, i would suggest burning her face a bit.
also, i like the title "tea." |
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cutler:
Hey Talia: this picture is from a binder of my grandfather's negatives marked "1968-69". That is pretty much all the information I have about the image (except that I'm pretty sure I know who the young gentleman is. Anyhow, I agree with you that the lady's face is a bit too hot (as is the teacup, come to think of it). That was not intentional and I think I'll take your advice and correct it. |
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[ 1 ] jlewis:
Okay, Chris, I'll bite: who's the guy? |
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[ 2 ] gabriel:
That's your... no, wait. I mean, it would be really cool if your negatives are crisp enough to pull an image out of the glasses reflections; would give even more dimension to what's already a just-past-posed photo. |
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[ 3 ] gabriel:
Look! The Queen Mother's showing some leg! Okay, I'd better knock it off; being at work for twenty-two hours sillies the judgement. In any case, I agree with LW (though I haven't seen Antoni's work); this doesn't come off so much as a stereotype as it does a mockery of stereotypes, even outside of the gender-based view. She is looking way more Her than can really be believed... I might feel the same way about him, but I've gotten a bit familiar with his face. |
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wolfram:
No, I don't think it's stereotypical at all; I actually think it calls attention to stereotypes in an eerie Janine Antoni type way. Are you familiar with her photographs of her parents? She did a series in which she had her parents dress as each other -- in many of the photos it's hard to tell whether the mother is actually the mother or the father made up as her mother, and vice versa for the father. Your photo reminds me of Antoni's series in that the poses and facial features seem in many ways to reverse certain gender traits. For instance, the man in your photo looks smaller, smoother, and rather more timid than the woman, who stares far more directly (the reflection on the man's glasses obscures the direction of his glance -- I love it!) and confrontationally out at us. Her face seems rougher than her male companion, as if all the makeup she is wearing is maybe meant to disguise rough, masculine skin. This is a great photograph. |
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tasha:
Dude, could you stop it with the cool-as-all-get-out photographs? They're really wearing out the nifty-ness meters in my eyes ; ]. Seriously, I agree with the folks above. It's not "stereotypical," it's just that life is imitating art is imitating life - the details of the way your subjects are dressed and their facial expressions and postures are just crazily dead-on. This couldn't have been better if it had been posed (I'm assuming it wasn't). P.S. This reminds me of my father and his mother, now that I think about it *looks a little sad, then shudders* |
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cutler:
Thanks for the nice comments, y'all. I want to try a little experiment now: everyone who has commented on this piece has remarked on my description of that image as "stereotypical." Most people didn't think it was stereotypical. But I'm wondering whether you assessment of it will change when I tell you that these two individuals are British. . . is it stereotypical now? |
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cgroom:
This photo is just rad because it makes such a strong character sketch. She is strong, he cringes; we see this in the composition (she's in the forground, holding a level cup, squinting; he sags in the background, droppy book) and the lighting. The only thing I would question is the ceiling (?) poking into the upper-right, which perhaps could be fixed with cropping. |
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