Gaze (better viewed large)

I helped a friend with her art project, She is presenting this photograph in her

art course for their end of dagree exhibition, in our universaty. I don't want to

say too much about it because we are interested to get an objective opinion

and to hear your thoughts, without going into detail about the idea behind it.

Anyway, I think it speaks for itself. Please view large as It's going to be

presented at around 140X100 cm

Your exposure seems okay - I guess your project have something to do with being handicapped and having a place in society. I can't make the connection without help. I will say, It took me a few views before i noticed the handicap - maybe I'm used to work with much worse cases - or because I choose to move it way down on my list of things to look for. In any case - I hope you will reveal more on your project in time.

Good luck

PS: Take a look in My Scraps folder - or maybe at "Count My fingers" in Manipulation galleries.

Ordinarily, I'd be inclined to comment about the subject being centered in the frame, and the rules of composition, blah, blah, blah.  For whatever it's worth, I view those rules as informal guidelines and not as laws cast in stone.

In this instance, the young lady's posture on a stool in the center of the road works for me quite well, especially given the stare she's received from the lady in the white dress.  In fact, I think her presence in the middle is quite dramatic.

My best,

michael

Okay, I notice that you have posted two of the these. I saw the one with the arguing couple first and then I came across this one. I'm not sure, but are these photo composites? I say this because (to me) the focus of the girl on the stool seems sharper and her colors seem slightly more saturated in both photos. The other option is, of course, that you set up the stool in the street and took different pics with different passers-by. It took me quite a while to notice her hands. I'm sure that there is probably more to see in this series with more scrutiny. Very interesting. Do tell us the whole story when you've garnered enough reaction for the project. (I'm curious to hear).

Hi Avital,

Very interesting topic. The quality of comments above and the number of views confirm it. This is a strong emotionally-rich image about an important society theme.

I really like your post-processing and centered-subject. This image is well worth a 6.

A minor flaw would be that one doesn't know what is the lady on the left looking at: the hands with missing fingers? Or is she simply wondering why a young woman is being photographed on a stool in this place? Anyway there's room for imagination and this is always a good thing in such an image.

Congrats to both of you for this work! I guess it wasn't a so easy shooting.

Best regards,

Alain

Thank you very much for all the comments! I will comment back very soon I have a lot of things to say.. but soon :)

i wish i could give an objective opinion but mine is subjective...the woman appears to not be distracted by anyone else even though she is clearly put into a position which would draw one's attention...technically it's very centered...i like the low angle the picture was taken...it makes her more of a presence...one of the more interesting aspects of the image is the woman on the left looking towards the subject and I'm not sure but the woman on the park bench may be looking the same way...she is so sharp as compared to the rest of the image which may fool people into thinking that she's part of a composite...it's an intriguing image...regards....David

stunning.

David and Alexis, thank you. 

Now that the exhibition is on, I would like to share my friend's words which appeared next to the photograph:

'If you look carefully at this photograph, you may find it says something about you. As you glance at my hands, some of you may think, "Poor thing,"  "What happened to her"? or "Handicapped." You might see yourself in the woman walking by on the left, stealing a look, making a judgment, and moving on. Or maybe you will see yourselves as me; at some time in your lives you may well have been "tagged" because of some external feature, totally beyond your control, your individuality evaporated, erased.'

'Gaze' is a term borrowed from psychoanalysis. It is used to describe the developmental stage at which an individual realizes that he or she can be observed by others.

In art, the act of gazing can confer power since the observer, by definition, objectifies (weakens) the person being gazed at. In this photograph, the observer (woman walking by) has the power as she objectifies the girl in the center. But the girl, in turn, gazes out at us -- objectifying us -- thus making the moment into a "power play". She challenges us to be aware that we too might find ourselves judging her superficially. And, incidentally, that we ourselves are on display, just as she is. By gazing at us, she is pulling us into the composition, forcing us to be part of the story. Viewers of this photograph have the power to gaze at it in a thoughtful way and not move on with a quick dismissive look, like the woman walking by.

A note about how I took this shot: It was not easy. It was important for it to be "real" and not staged, so we tried many shots in the same setting until we were satisfied.

Thank you for the fill in. First thought about the passing woman was to me a concern for the girl apparently sitting in the middle of the road. Even after discovering the hand-issue i could not make a connection between the eyes and the hand - i simply don't think she could see them from her point of view. Perhaps this would be different if she was walking in the other direction looking back.

I do get your point about the judging part but to be honest I get more of a "wanting-to-hate-being-judged" vibe as she sits on a strange spot with her deformity in plain view. I'm almost sure, that if her hands was shown in a line-up with normal hands it would take a few seconds to spot the unusual feature.

And people does look at unusual things - it's part of trying to understand the world.

Thanks for the additional info. And just to make things clear. I do sympathize with what you are doing.

Svend, I agree with what you said, people do look at things and people that are different, the different attracts attention and curiosty. this project comes out of exactlly that understanding- that people will look. but the questioh is, what accompanies that look, is it prejudice?  by her looking at the viewer she is asking him to be aware of that. I think we all make false assumptions regarding a superficial characteristic , even subconsciously. This isnt really a story about this specific girl in the middle but about being different and the way society copes with that. I would choose the word "difference" over "deformity" or " handicap". 

What i like about art is that individual people will feel different about it and have their own associations and feelings, and not everyone will relate to an idea, and thats ok.  

To me, this is an image of a woman who has accepted herself for what she is, and she is sitting prominently in a public place where she will be noticed.  She is proud of her hands and she wants people to notice those as well because they are something special about her.  Her posture, expression and the way her hair is combed are all an expression of self-satisfaction and the power of commanding the space that she occupies and everyone that enters her gaze.  I think this is a very compelling image, very well done.  Thank you for sharing it with us.

At the age of 3 i got a nasty third degree burn on most of my right arm. This was, of cause, traumatic but i got over it. The scar became an integrated part of who i am - so much that i never thought the scar as being unusual. I saw my playmates arms and still did not think of myself as different. The first time i became aware of the scar, was when i started school and the other kids there saw my arm for the first time and couldn't help staring. But when they realized i could do the same things they could, the scar (and I) became normal.

For 10 years i have been working with people with massive deformities. When out in public i do see them get the stolen gazes your image are all about - mostly from adults. Children stare more openly and curious and often their parents yank them away - i think fearing their curiosity embarrasses. The truth is, that the more people, and especially children, are exposed to differences, the more they (and indeed we all) accept the world as a diverse place.

Funny thing is, everybody want to be unique but no one wants to be different.

Hope this make sense.

Thanks for giving us the whole story of the project. As photographers, isn't that just what we do? Not necessarily with any kind of negative judgement, but we do stand safely on the other side of the lens and gaze. That is probably why some folks are so uncomfortable being photographed.

FWIW, I didn't even notice her hands being different until some time after I first viewed the piece (perhaps I should sharpen my observation skills :-) ). I think we do see oftentimes what we are looking for. I was looking at composition, pp, and light at the time.

Thanks for the interesting photo and discussion.

Amy, yes ! that is so true! when we shoot a photograph we are on the safe side of the lens, choosing how the composition will result, manipulating a moment to look a certain way. Also the word "shooting" really does make you think of power and objectyifying, doesnt it? every person you photograhp, in a way, is like an object in your photograhp, you have control over how he will appear. 

Tony thank you very much for your comment!