This is so darn piquant it hurts. Which I assume is the intention, and a good thing -- it certainly caught my eye and moved me to comment.
The table doesn't bother me so much, it lends that same feeling of "Ha! It's okay!" that the health of the man and dog provide; however, my display cropped all but a mm of it at first, and the tone does change without. The subtle halo of dark around one and light around the other (and the way the background seems to follow his outline in the darkness) make me think of "manipulation," whether warranted or not.
But what really drew me in, and what nobody's mentioned, is the food -- at this resolution, I'm squinting to guess bread or cheese, and neither seem quite 'appropriate' for the dog (bread would be symbolic, of course, and I assume it's that)... For some reason, I really want to see a little more color on the plate (some garnish, a hot pepper, a hint of the steak the dog's 'really' looking at?), or less (removing that distracting splash beneath the knife, which.. I.. now.. realize.. the dog.. is.. pointing.. me.. right.. to, and I want to know what it is and if it's any good, too!)...
...but that'd increase the cliche and ruin the 'postmodern' candidness of it (guy's not too hungry, dog's not too skinny, table's not too old, and how'd we all get into this mess, anyway?), not to mention the triangle between dog, garnish, and knife!
few for two
in Uncategorized
Posted
This is so darn piquant it hurts. Which I assume is the intention, and a good thing -- it certainly caught my eye and moved me to comment.
The table doesn't bother me so much, it lends that same feeling of "Ha! It's okay!" that the health of the man and dog provide; however, my display cropped all but a mm of it at first, and the tone does change without. The subtle halo of dark around one and light around the other (and the way the background seems to follow his outline in the darkness) make me think of "manipulation," whether warranted or not.
But what really drew me in, and what nobody's mentioned, is the food -- at this resolution, I'm squinting to guess bread or cheese, and neither seem quite 'appropriate' for the dog (bread would be symbolic, of course, and I assume it's that)... For some reason, I really want to see a little more color on the plate (some garnish, a hot pepper, a hint of the steak the dog's 'really' looking at?), or less (removing that distracting splash beneath the knife, which.. I.. now.. realize.. the dog.. is.. pointing.. me.. right.. to, and I want to know what it is and if it's any good, too!)...
...but that'd increase the cliche and ruin the 'postmodern' candidness of it (guy's not too hungry, dog's not too skinny, table's not too old, and how'd we all get into this mess, anyway?), not to mention the triangle between dog, garnish, and knife!