Our world is a bizarre juxtaposition of both simple and complex. As technology and new inventions refine and streamline our lives, there is an equal amount of confusion and complication intertwined within the simplification. The same may be said for the human body. As we consider the significance of the human body in our world today, in 2010, we encounter an intertwined existence of the oversimplified and complex. Our view and use of the human body has narrowed, and through this narrowing of perspectives we are confronted with confusion and difficulty as to how to respond.
The human body in our world today has become (1) oversexualized to such an extent that we no longer inhabit a holistic sexual identity. The human body is a tool and representation of sex, yet it has lost its overall sexual identity that is inherent in who we are as created beings of God. Moreover, the human body in our world today is (2) underutilized in its creative and dynamic possibilities. So often we become accustomed to walking to class, walking between offices, sitting at a desk for hours on end. The human body is a sustained combination of straight lines and predictable movements. Yet, maybe its because I'm a dancer or because I love yoga, but through these mediums, and so many others, I encounter the strange and outrageous and backward and beautiful and surprising ways in which our bodies can move. The human body has become reduced and stripped down to a few bare ideas and images. However, in the face of this distillation there is a hope that the magnificent complexity of our bodies and identities as created beings of Christ may be rediscovered and embraced.
The composition for this picture really gets the focus on the body across well, especially with the faces cut out. However it's hard for me to tell, without looking at your explanation, whether you view this as good or bad. This could be a really good clothing advert you might find in Vogue, for instance. Quite well done, although your personal feeling about current views of the body is hard to judge; the only clue we get is that the girl's face is turned away from us, as if in shame.
ReplyDeletethe first thing I thought of when I saw this, I thought "wow, this looks straight up professional."
ReplyDeleteI still think that way.
Your ideas on the body however really makes me think, and it creates lots of meaning in this photo. Great job on composition, lighting, and everything.
i love the commercial look this picture has and then how you break it down into the movement and formations of the body. it makes one appreciate the body we have been given. you have taken a the body as in object and turned it into a symbol of God's beauty.
ReplyDeleteim always interested when a photographer chooses to cut off the heads in an image, and i think it's effective here to express what you're saying about how modern culture views the body, especially how we generalize things to "the female form" or "the male form," rather than allowing people to be specific individuals.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many ideas presented through this photo- all very interesting and cool!! I especially like the hidden face and the pretty printed dress against the brick.
ReplyDeletei think it is interesting that you essentially pulled some classic photographic satire. using a topic to make fun of that topic in the same moment. that was probably worded a little confusing. do you think that shoots you in the foot to use the very thing you despise?
ReplyDelete"a sustained combination of straight lines and predictable movements." There are certainly lines we no longer cross. This shouldn't be so. Boldness is necessary.
ReplyDeletei like the perspective of this image a lot. it reminds me somewhat of an advertisement for clothing, but at the same time it is interesting that the faces are hidden and the focus is instead on the female body, while the male body remains still in the background.
ReplyDeleteI like how "un-human" the figures are, without faces or emotion. The color is vivid, which I love.
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