Tragedy in Concord, Alabama, as families put the pieces back together
By: Krystal Hampton
Art 231
October 1st 2012
Form 5:
How do the elements of color, line, shape, texture, space, and so on work
together to contribute to the design of the image?
In this an image of a mother and son, the mother is
embracing and comforting her son after a devastating tornado destroys their
hometown. When I look at this image I see the use of space in the image. The
mother and son are standing in the foreground while the damage and debris are
behind them in the background. The use of color is also seen in the background,
with pieces of brown damage trees, what is left of white cars and trucks being
strewn about, and the green of what is left of the front yards of homes. The
sky is a cloudy-like overcast and this makes the image appear to be “bright”.
Line is another element that is seen in the image, of the tree branches and in
the cable/power lines that are lying in the road.
1.
1.How are these elements arranged and/or balanced
together within the image?
2.
2.Are any of the design elements dominant? What elements are less dominant? What would change about the image if you
were to change the relationship of the design elements to one another to make
another element dominant? How would
your response to the image be altered?
3.
3.Imagine how you might change the image by varying
one of the design elements discussed above.
What element would you vary and how?
4.
4.What emotion(s) do the combined design elements
create for you as you explore this image?
What memories or associations are called up for you by the way in which
the design elements are used? Do you
think another viewer might interpret the use of design elements
differently? Why or why not? Might individual or socio-cultural memories
or experiences affect one's response to the design elements? Why or why not?
The
elements of space, color, and line are balanced in the image by, with the
background debris and the mother and son standing in the foreground embracing
showing a sense of space, the down trees showing line and color, the cars and
trucks showing color, and the cable on the ground showing line. The element
that is most dominate in the image is space. As soon as you look at the image
your eyes automatically go to the mother and son with the damage from the
tornado behind them. The elements that are less dominated are color and
texture. I don’t think I would change anything about the image or the elements however;
I would maybe change the position of the mother and son, and have them stand
closer to the damage just to see how different the image would look.
Looking
at this image makes me feel sadness, loss, and a feeling of being unsure about
the future. The memories that are triggered for me when I look at this image is
of the damage that was done in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Seeing the
house underwater, homes destroyed beyond repair, the helpless people in need of
help, and trying to put their lives back together reminds me of this image. I think
another viewer who may have gone through a similar experience as the one in the
image may interpret the design elements differently because they may see
elements in the image that are more prominate to them that I would see.
Content 3: Does your image depict
people?
The image depicts two people a mother and
her son.
1.How many people are featured in the
image?
2.Can you approximate their
ages? Their races? Are they male or female?
3.Are they indoors or outdoors?
4.Does the image appear to be candid
or posed?
5.Is it a formal or informal
portrait?
6.Is it a still portrait? How are the
figures depicted? In profile? From the front? From behind? Is there a backdrop? Are there props?
7.Is it an action shot? What is happening in the image? Where did
the action begin? How are others
responding to the action(s)?
8.Are there material objects in the
image?
9.How are the people dressed? What
type of clothing are they wearing? What
type of shoes are they wearing? Are
they wearing accessories like jewelry, hats, scarves? What does their costume suggest about the
period, the place, the climate, the temperature, the season, the setting? Are
there symbols associated with their dress or objects? Are they wearing uniforms?
10.What type of activities might they
engage in?
11.Are the engaged in individual or
collective activities?
12.What is the purpose of their
activity? For personal pleasure? For worship? For work? For relaxation? Etc.
13.Is there any evidence of the
presence or relationship to technology?
14.Is there any evidence of the
presence or relationship to nature?
The mother is described as a Caucasian
female that looks to be in her early fifties, her son is a Caucasian male who
looks he may be in his late teens or early twenties. The mother is dressed in
long black pants, with a long white short sleeved shirt, and her son is wearing
a pale blue long short sleeved shirt, with contrasting blue army fatigue
shorts. Both of them are wearing what appear to be sneakers. They are wearing
no type of jewelry or accessories, and judging from their clothing this image
is current. The weather based on their clothing is warm maybe getting into the
early part of spring maybe summer time. This is a candid informal image that
was taken outdoors after the tornado hit.
The mother and son are not engaged in any
kind of activity and there is no presence of the relationship of technology,
but there is presence of a relationship with nature, given the damage that is
in the image of their surroundings. This relationship with nature in this image
is described as surviving a devastating tornado, healing and dealing with the
loss of their home and possession, and now trying to put their lives back
together.
Context 5: What is the social,
political, and /or cultural context of this image?
The social context of this image is the depiction of
events that occur in everyday life and things that happen to real people.
1.Can this image located within any
social institutions? Does it belong to
a family? Was it produced by a
government? Is it owned by the media?
2.Is this image used in any social
practices or rituals? Might it be given
as a gift? Used in a ceremony? Displayed at social functions?
3.Does this image express any
politics? If so, what are those
politics?
4.Are there any politics surrounding
the image? Any groups that have
protested the image? Any groups that
have fought for this image?
5.Does this image have any cultural
meaning? Does the meaning vary for
members of different cultures?
6.Does this image do any social,
political, or cultural work? Does it
explain any aspect of society? Does it
win you over to any political position?
Does it teach you anything about another culture, or your own?
This image does not really express any
political views or standpoints; however the production of the image looks as if
it was taken by the media and belongs to them. I would not say that this image
can be used in social practices or rituals but it can be used by the media
during news productions and in newspaper and magazines, which are covering
natural disaster stories. This image can potentially be used in an art gallery
setting better than being given as a gift.
No political surrounds are in contained in
the image but it does have social and cultural meaning. The meaning is that
natural disasters and occur anywhere and at any given time and it just doesn’t
happen in certain places in the world.
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