One Step Forward, Twenty Steps Back

Love this image. first glace the blues pull you in expecting something bright and cheerful, but then you see the fences and it all gets sinister...so many questions then open up, you have to escape...and fortunately there is the break in teh fence. trrific creation.

Hey Katherine. Wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Yeat with much success to your creativity. Ilia.

Katherine,

 

I see you came up with an image quickly...looks like it has the high energy and frenzy of a typical day. Well done!

 

And the feet, well, they are very photogenic. I wonder who belongs to them?

-Stephen

Thanks for viewing.

As always, it is an interesting, creative composition. Nicely done. Dan

Katherine, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Best regards, Ruud.

 

I need to think about this one. I'll come back to it.

Included in my art collection are 24 lithographs by George Zielezinski and 10 by Kathe Kollwitz that depict scenes from Germany's concentration camps. Your image immediately caused me to think of those prints that I'd not looked at for some time. I needed to locate them and view them again before commenting on your image. Viewing those prints in my collection only helped to reinforce the feeling that I was viewing the yard of a concentration camp when I see your image.

 

In a way I see a symphony of beauty in the swirling patterns of light and dark but there is also a haunting power in the razor-wire fences and the white searchlights that are constantly scanning the yard. Your title even reinforces what I see in your image by suggesting mankind's advancements being offset by his inhumanity to his fellow beings.

 

It is not bad that your image brought these thoughts to my mind because they are things that must be remembered. Your image is a true work of art and it is one that I will not forget for a long time.

 

Hi Shawn,

When you said you were going to go back and think, I imagined you with a cup of coffee sitting back and contemplating. Your response is so much deeper, well researched and eloquently expressed than I could of imagined. I am truly touched. It is interesting for me that this image represented a very personal situation when created and yet once it was complete, I realized how life in a much larger social context is also represented here. Almost like a parralel process. I wish that the concentration camp images that you speak of were not a reality of our history and being on this planet, yet it disturbs me even deeper that as a society we fail to learn the lesson and continue to commit unspeakable acts of violence on a daily basis. My hope is that furture generations will not only see the light but use it to guide them. Take Care and Happy Holidays! Katherine

Good work.

Interesting that I, too, immediately thought of Kathe Kollwitz and several other artists when I viewed this. It's a powerful and moving image, and sadly too appropriate now. Wonderfully made!

 

I wish you a gentle, happy Christmas and a joyous New Year! Warm regards, Joe

I like it!

Merry Christmas Katherine, and congratulations for a wonderful Photo!

.. it cause me to be in the state of heavy thoughts.. very transcending image. Wishing you happy holidays.

An extremely thought provoking image Katherine that caught my attention for a long time. I see a no man's land between two ominous security fences that has become full of life making me wonder if the fences are keeping the evil in or out. Very nicely done.

 

regards,

 

jim

Hi Tony, Joseph, Bob, Apurva, Cedrico and Jim,

Thank you so much for the kind words and support. Thanks also for sharing your thoughts and reactions to this image as it makes it all the more meaningful. Happy holidays to you and take care! Katherine

It would help me to identify with the image had it had some conotations to the acyually existing thing rather than just being an abstract in itself. There are jails and concentrations camps everywhere in the world. So as an abstract, idealistic pro life statement it is fine... it takes more to connect with reality.

Hi Janusz,

We all have our own realities and this image definitely is a representation of my own experiences, both of recent and of past. As I stated in an earlier response, once the image was completed, I realized how it spoke to many different experiences, events and concepts at once. The key is not to have a precise answer in black and white, but to open your mind and tune into the feelings, emotions and memories that the image evokes. If there is no connection, then I guess this is just not the image for you. Thank you for your feedback and enjoy the holidays. Best Regards Katherine

What a spectacular image! It has elicited a good response and several very thoughtful comments. And, as has generally been said, there is beauty here, but a certain foreboding, maybe even dread. Shadows and illumination vie for dominance. Outstanding.

Wow, David you are quick, I can't keep up with you. Thanks for the feedback. Take Care! Katherine

I jumped over to your portfolio, because you left a comment on one of my images. Whenever someone with whom I'm unfamiliar comments, I like to see if I can learn a bit about them. I've made a quick cruise through a couple of folders, and can see that you will require a bit more work, so I've marked you and will be back. Cheers