'Nudes?'

Nudes? Not exactly, but nearly so for various photographic and visual plays.

I'll leave it to you to enumerate or remark on those if you wish. Your ratings,

critiques and observations are invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly,

verycritically, or you wish to make a remark, pleases submit a helpful and

constructive comment; please share your photographic knowledge to help

improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy. john

This photo was taken 3-5 miles or less from the famous ravine in Kyiv, Ukraine at Baba Yar where German soldiers in World War II spent 5 days machine gunning, shoveling to death, burying alive, and otherwise murdering tens to hundreds of thousands of Jews from Kyiv who were expecting to be resettled.  

German machinery pushed body upon body, children were buried alive, bullets eventually were in such short supply victims were lined up head to head to be killed two by one bullet.

Killed:   33,700, German reports.

             100,000-200,000, Soviet reports

If you had known that when you first saw this photo, would your feelings about it be the same or a little more conflicted?

As are mine?

john

John (Crosley)

Anti-span software killed my proposed link.   I suggest Googling Baba Yar, Berdichev and viewing.

Recommended (but not before a meal):

http://www.berdichev.org/babi_yar.htm

jc

The link that disappeared and was killed by software mysteriously appeared in the above comment, but at the same time the editing period expired so the comment does not now read well; my apologies.

john

John (Crosley)

John, for me there's in fact a disturbing holocaustic feel on it. I guess this level it up from an artistic prespective.

Regards,

ricardo

My comments above were difficult to make; they can be seen as 'bummers', but they are real and incorporated and seen by me in the artistic process exactly when I took this photo, but at the same time I saw this scene for repetition, lights and darks, form, sexuality and other subjects beside its propinqity to the deaths of those at Baba Yar, which frankly I seldom think about --- to think about it more than occasionally would be absolutely crippling emotionally.

Gold star for you for having the courage to follow through and confront the whole issue of this photo's origin.

john

John (Crosley)

John,

I would say this is a very effective depiction of disregard for humanity that is being practiced by brutes on a daily basis. Knowing the background and geographical location does add perspective to the already striking imagery. Since it is in black and white, it creates an added illusion of real bodies as opposed to mannequins. The withered breasts (left corner) remind very much of the piled up dead bodies of prisoners from the well documented WWII photos of the nazi regime.

However I would add that the way this image was taken (or cropped), it has an element of illusion in it. The shadows and profiles are such that, from a distance it gives the impression of human faces or masks may be.

I posted this somewhat naiively, knowing in the back of my mind the photo's place in nearby history and its irony, even when I took it, and was willing to let that historical perspective go at that.

But after a certain number of views, this photo ran into 'the wall' and not only did views stop, but there were no comments; obviously I had omitted to open the door to an important way of treating the photo's analysis.

So, I posted historical perspective, and I am relieved by renewed viewer response, though it's as I  wrote above, a 'bummer', since this photo may be viewed on many other levels than as corpses, maybe reflecting those who had been killed by the hundred thousands nearby 70 or so years ago by the Nazis but also as a study in repetition, light and shadow, the human existence, how we are all treated as 'cyphers' and a host of other philosophical subjects that have little to do with annihilation, but with the human experience. And the photo is still open to such discussion, which I hope may take place after this gentle nudge.

I only host the salon that is my comments section, and hope others will take it as 'open ended' -- a place for inquiring minds that is an alternative to 'philosophy of photography forum, which I find mostly indecipherable.

Thanks for the comment.

And for being bold.

john

John (Crosley)