Period 3 -- Critical Analysis #20

4/20/2017

Today you will be writing about a photograph by artist Lori Nix. This image is from her series titled The City.

Write 4 paragraphs, 5 sentences minimum per paragraph. Remember, refer to your "How to See" handout for analyzing a photograph--

Describe specifics.
Describe form.
Describe the content.
Evaluate the image.

Before you write, read the artist statement:

I consider myself a faux-landscape photographer. I build meticulously detailed model environments and then photograph the results. Through the photographic process, the fictional scene is transformed into a surreal space, where scale, perspective, and the document of the photograph create a tension between the material reality of the scene and the impossibility of the depicted narrative. In this space, between evidence and plot, the imagination of the viewer is unlocked, engaged, and provoked. I want my scenes to convey rich, complex, detailed, and, ultimately, open-ended narratives.

Several common themes prevail throughout my work: the constructed photograph, the landscape in turmoil, and danger married to humor. I present these elements as the raw materials of stories with messages, but without conclusions.

The photographs I create do not reflect the tradition of the grand idyllic landscape. Rather than showing the beautiful or heroic vista, I look to the darker corners of life. I am interested in the forces of entropy, in the ruins left in the wake of human pretense of grandeur. My scenes are usually devoid of people, and this emptiness becomes an important element. In this way, the impact of civilization is shown by what remains in the absence of humans. Evidence of humans may still be visible, but the cause for their absence is left unclear, allowing the viewer to complete the narrative.

In my current series The City, I focus on the ruins of urban landscapes. I have chosen the spaces that celebrate modern culture, knowledge, and innovation: the theater, the museum, and the library. Here the monuments of civilization and material culture are abandoned, in a state of decay and ruin, with natural elements such as plants, insects, and animals beginning to repopulate the spaces. This idea of paradise lost, or the natural world reclaiming itself, becomes more forceful as we face greater environmental challenges in the world around us.

Eddie Garcia

4/20/2017 08:40:04 am

This is an image of a worn out shoe store that is abandoned. You can tell its abandoned by the way stuff is messily strewn across the floor. The Image Uses dark worn out colors to signify that the place is abandoned. There are no people in the image just shoes and shelves. The lighting in the exposure is studio set up

The image is a little under exposed for effect. This makes the abandoned aspect of the picture feel more realistic. The image is in good resolution. you can tell this because the image doesn't appear to be stretched out. The photo is also in good focus since everything is crisp and easy to see.

The composition in this image is not really defined by anything. There are no leading lines or boxes that point out a specific focal point. The same goes with the rule of thirds, since everything is everywhere there really is not much to focus on framing wise. The image is not balanced since on the right there is a neat stack of shoes on shelves, but on the opposite side there are shoes of the floor and scatter in an uneven pattern. There is not much negative space in the image.

I feel like this image has a theme That nature will always out exist humans. Even though the place in the photograph is man made, and it was once a busy store nature still claimed it. In the back you can see a tree protruding from the wall in the back. I like this image, because I can appreciate how long it takes to make the objects and then to make them look even more realistic takes a lot more work. Then the image results themselves are really staggering. The image looks like one is in a real shoe store that is abandoned.

Nick Perez

4/20/2017 08:43:10 am

This composition by Lori Nix is a meticulously crafted work of art that conveys both meaning and beauty. The image is of a dilapidated shoe store. There is a tree coming through the window, and shoe boxes scattered throughout the story. The shelves are falling down and look to be in ruin. The colors of the store have faded and the colors on the shoe box look washed out and grey. The image not only has content that is eye catching, but also uses great composition and form.

Lori Nix does an excellent job of using the elements of design to successful effect in her images. She uses the faded colors of the shoes and the store to tell a story. She uses horizontal lines and vertical lines to convey sharp emotions. She uses space to show the absence of people in the store and the emptiness that fills the room. She uses texture to show the rubble that is littered throughout the room. All of these elements are used in order to create a successful composition that portrays themes.

The central theme of the image is the transience of human nature over the passage of time. This is a theme that is common throughout other fields of art. In the play Beowulf, the transience of human nature is discussed. In some of the great metaphysical sonnets by John Donne, the transience of human nature is discussed through perfectly crafted conceits. Nix presents this theme in her own, unique way. She seems to by implying that nothing, no matter how glorified it is, lasts. This is evident by the ruin that she has put her shoe store through. The image is also highly successful.

This meticulously crafted image is successful in both theme and content. The image immediately commands the attention of the viewer. It gives the onlooker a mystery box and makes you think about the image. It is also beautiful. The model has a plethora of tiny details scattered throughout it that make it much more believable. The image is successful in conveying its themes and easy on the eyes.

Mouna Al-Hakeem

4/20/2017 08:45:00 am

This image is of a shoe store that is in ruins. it is using natural lighting. It is using dark colors. The walls are broken down and destroyed. Many of the shoes have been destroyed.
The image has perfect exposure. The image is in focus. The colors are correct. There is no pixelation. Has adequate resolution.
It is pleasing to look at. The rule of thirds is being used. It is from a birds eye point of view. It is not framed. The lines from the shoe rack direct my eye to the shoe.
The image is balanced. The subject does fill the frame. The image crops off the rest of the store. The whole studio would be considered positive space. The theme is like a post apocalyptic scene. After human are gone and those are the remains.The image is successful and i like it.

Sarah Marshall

4/20/2017 08:48:07 am

This image is of a sports store. The store includes jackets and shoes, and it is displayed in a post - apocalyptic world. The artist uses dark shadows and the colors are dull. The artist does this to add this mysterious effect and to show that there was disaster in the photo. The lighting is a studio set up but it is set up to look like natural light.
The objects included in the image are shoes, jackets, shoeboxes, and buildings. The store in the image looks like a disaster. There are shoes left on the floor, a hole in the wall, and opened shoe boxes scattered everywhere. This image is underexposed. I find this image pleasing to look at because it is mysterious, it makes me want to know more about what happened and why the store looks the way that it does.
The color is correct and the resolution is adequate. The image is pleasing to look at because every part of the photo is interesting. The photographer took this photograph at somewhat of a downward angle looking onto the store so that everything can be seen. The focal point is the huge hole in the wall and it is framed by the wall of shoes. The lines are on the wall and on the ceiling and direct your eye towards the hole in the wall. The shadows on the left side of the photograph create depth and make it seem as if the viewer is in the store.
The themes and ideas in this image are about the future. It is showing viewers what could possibly happen in the future whether it be sooner or later. The story on this image is about a post-apocalyptic world. It says that there was a disaster and this photo shows the aftermath. This image reminds me of the show The Walking Dead. I really enjoy this photo because I find it interesting how fast the world can change and that it can either be for the best or for the worst.

Bryce C. link

4/20/2017 08:51:13 am

This image depicts an old and run down shoe store. This store seems to have been abandoned for quite some time now. The odd detail about this store is that the clothing and shoes are still present on the shelves. This is odd due to the fact that this store would have been looted and all the items and accessories would be gone. The image later reveals that all of humanity has disappeared suddenly.

This image, before it reveals that fact, alludes to this by using the lighting to set an old and dark tone.

4/20/2017 06:03:49 pm

CRITICAL ANALYSIS CONTINUED:

As noted by a fellow student seated next to me, the lights in the store seem to be still functional. This is a surprisingly large part of what finishes the lighting and fulfills the task it is trying to accomplish. It adds small spots of light which are surrounded by old darkness. Although, some of the spots of light produced from the ceiling lights are invaded by exterior light peeking through the giant hole in the store wall. This may represent the practical scenario in which nature retakes its planet and replaces our own artificial environment that we have created with the natural organic one that the Earth originally possessed.

I really like this image and it may be my favorite one that I have analyzed over my time in this class. The main two reasons I enjoy this image so much is the detail I have listed and described above, which is the lighting, and the minor details. These minor yet important details add their own little fragments to the story of this image. For example, some of the shoes on the shelves are missing or are on the ground or some of the boxes are laying in a specific pattern order. This suggests that people were holding them to look at them or bring it to checkout to buy it for their daughter's birthday before they just vanished right where they stood and dropped everything. Thats a pretty scary thought, isn't it?

I am again to emphasize how much I enjoy this image. The main aspect I like is the story it expresses and how it gives your mind the opportunity to fill in the blanks in the story and complete it. The lighting and tone both combine to create a large part of this photograph's story. I believe that Lori Nix did an absolutely fantastic job with this photo, and I very much look forward to seeing more of her City series. This image reminds me of one of my favorite tv shows called the Walking Dead, which also portrays this dark and old world without the presence of humans. The only difference is the whole zombies thing. I actually might check out more of her photos right now.

Kyle Nevitt link

4/20/2017 08:51:40 am

This image is of a destroyed shoe store. It is using a variety of colors for all the different shoes. The lighting is a spot light cast by the photographer. The image includes shoes on a wall and the floor. The image is of a post apocalyptic time where humans are gone.

The image looks correctly exposed. It is in focus on the shoes. The coloring is correct. There is no apparent pixelation. The picture has an adequate resolution.

The rule of thirds is partially being used because the clothes in the back are on the left, the shoes on the ground are in the middle, and the shoes on the wall are on the right for the most part. The focal point is from to the side of the shoes but level to them. The lines of the shoe racks point to the back wall. The image is asymmetrical. The image completely fills the frame.

The theme of this image is society will become chaotic and deadly when people become too competitive. In the image, there are no people, but objects are still ok, so people must have caused this damage themselves. The author incorporated nature into the picture to show how we should retreat into nature, which is constant. Even when society breaks down due to over competition, nature will always be there to restart life. This photo is successful because it challenges me to retreat into nature and escape the over competitive society.

Harrison Fentress

4/20/2017 08:52:31 am

This is an image of an abandoned sport shoe store. It is using bright colors for the shoes but grey for the walls and floor with bright lights overhead. The lighting is studio set-up. There is a hole in the back wall that shows the front of another building. There is no action in the photo.

The image is perfectly exposed. This is because it is in a studio and backlit. The image is in focus. The colors look correct. There is good resolution and no pixelation.

The composition is pleasing to look at because of the faux sunlight coming from the background. The rule of thirds is not being used. The point of view is from near ceiling height looking broadly. The focal point is the hole in the wall in the back and it is surrounded by the horizontal floor and ceiling lines and the vertical wall lines that direct your eye there. The image is asymmetrical. There is extra space in the ceiling. The edge of the image crops off any entrance to the room the camera was in. The positive space is everything except the black ceiling which is negative space.

There is the theme of the balance between nature and modern material culture. A shoe store is the epitome of material culture. The building has been abandoned and nature is claiming it again. I like this photo. I think it was successful in conveying this theme.

Stow Neilson

4/20/2017 08:53:47 am

This image is of an abandoned shoe store. In the background you can see a tree has broken down the walls and is growing into the store. The lighting is bright. It uses bright studio lighting. There are no people visible in the image since it is abandoned.

The image is perfectly exposed. The image is in focus. It is focused on the shoes on the wall. The whites are white. There is no pixelation.

The Image is pleasing to look at because of the nature growing through the building. The rule of thirds could be being used where the trees match up with the leftmost third. The point of view is from a slightly elevated point of view. The negative space is the building in the background past the tree. The image is balanced because the important shoes are on right and the trees are on left.

I like the photo because of all the time that went into making the scene. The detail is amazing since it is so small. All the different shoes look like actual shoes available and the tree looks realistic. It is successful because it set out to make a place look abandoned and it did it. I really enjoy the photographers work.

Roman Ruiz

4/20/2017 08:54:22 am

This image is a hand made setting of a post apocalyptic shoe store. This shoe store looks like it has gone through a lot. The colors are vibrant because of the shoes, but the more you look at the image the less color you see because of the chaos in the middle of the store.The image has dark shadows inside, but has high light outside.

The image is a bit underexposed in the middle.The image is in focus. The colors are correct in this image.There is very little pixelation. This image is pleasing to look at. The rule of thirds is not being used in this photograph. The focal point is where the shoes are placed.

The lines in this image which are the shelves point the audience towards the outside where its nice and sunny. The image is balanced because it is asymmetrical. The subject of this image does fill the frame. The negative space is in the bottom, and the positive space is where the shoes are placed.

The themes in this image could be that no matter what we have, we are eventually going to lose it all. The story in this image are the post apocalyptic shoe store. The artist made this image to sho people that we should never take things for granted, because the world is going downhill. I really like this image because of the theme. The photograph, in my opinion, this image is really successful because the them she followed was successfully accomplished.

Bo Yin

4/20/2017 08:55:23 am

This is a photo of a shoe store. The wall is broken and there is a hole in it. The whole place is dirty and messy. The shoes and the boxes are everywhere. From the artist, we can know that she is focusing on the ruins of urban landscapes.

The composition is actually not pleasing to look at. It is a beautiful photo, but it also shows the absence of human. That is why I actually do not feel comfortable when looking at it. The image is not focusing on a specific object. All the stuffs that are in the room can be seen and have important meanings.

We know that the artist actually make the whole scene herself. It is impressive that she did it. She use the photo to show what happens after we are gone. And as we can see in the images, the nature is taking back control. We can notice that from the tree branch inside the store.

I personally do not enjoy looking at these photos. She is using all these stuffs just to show that the environment are going to take back control after we are gone. I think we should be more realistic and focus on why are we going to absent but not what happens after it. It is a beautiful photo though. I just do not get the point.

Peyton Nebens

4/20/2017 07:04:27 pm

This image is of a shoe shop that Eddie Garcia has made. Eddie Garcia is an amazing photographer and the image is of a deserted shoe shop. The lighting is a studio set up lighting but looks very natural. The objects included in this image are the shoes on display the messed up shoe store where the shoe and boxes are all over the place and the wall is open to the outside.

This image is not underexposed it is just right. The image is focusing on the broken wall of the new world. The resolution in this image is very nice. I really like this image it's really interesting and I love how she makes everything so real and it takes her 7 months to make all of this happen. I really like this women's work its very interesting and really creative.

I think that she took this image from a straight on point of view. To me it looks like the angle is right on, nothing different. I think its interesting how she is focusing the most on the wall and that is the focal point. In this image there is some extra space but it makes it more interesting with the extra space. The shoes to me look pretty authentic and real.

The negative and positive spaces in this image are, the positive spaces are the busted up wall, the tree coming through the wall and the shoes on the wall and on the floor. The negative spaces are the lights, the building in the background through the wall and the jackets that are hung on the back right wall. I think there is definitely a story being told how they make this fake world and how this other world looks so different from our world. How this other world looks kind of depressing. I really like this image, everything looks really authentic and real and I think its very interesting.

Daniel Herrera

4/20/2017 07:32:55 pm

In this image the miniature structure is showing mini shoes and other miniature things like, cloth, and benches. This image is using dark shadows with vibrant colors. This image is based on a post apocalyptic world. I think the exposure of this image is set right on point. The image still manages to contain details and information even in the dark spots. But isn't too bright either which gives it a very dramatic feeling. This image is definitely color corrected. The image is made to seem more vibrant and dark than it actually is. Due to the photos miniature structure, the resolution would depend a lot on the kind of micro lens which is being used. But, I do think that the image is at good resolution.
    I believe that the image is pleasing to look at because you begin to think about how long it took the photographer to build this mini structure. I wouldn't consider the rule of thirds being used because there is no main focus, the image uses a high f-stop. So many things are in focus at once. The photographer took this image from a bird's eye view. There is no extra space in the image, one's side is filled with light, nature and shoes. The other side is filled with the shadows of the structures. I would like to say that the image is symmetrical because all the way on the other side of the structure you will realize that the roof of the shoe store is parallel to the base of the photograph, and the sides are also parallel to each other.
    Well the themes or ideas which the photographer tried to base in the photo is really simple. The photographer works on miniature structures of what something would look like if a sort of apocalypse was to happen. Therefore, in this photograph the idea would be that this is what a shoes store would kind of look like if some apocalypse was to occur. Due to the photographer's intentions and outcomes this photo obviously reminds me of a lot of the movies or video games I've played in the past about zombie attacks and stuff like that.
    I like the image, and I would definitely consider it successful. Why? Well, making small structures like that takes about 7 months, and the amount of effort which goes into the lighting and designs and scaling, Its such a good work that sometimes she could actually fool you and make you think that the structure was real size. Also, her art style in general is super unique. There are many photographers who work on building things and photograph the outcome, but there are very few who are actually successful.

Will Thompson

4/20/2017 09:59:37 pm

This image makes yo look at the detail. The fact this was built from scratch makes you want to find the fake. It is very realistic so that made be more difficult. Every little thing is placed that way for a reason and it is to catch your eyes.
The light in this picture is interesting. It is made to look like a sun. The way it is angled makes the left side look way darker than anything else. The building in the very back just adds one more layer to the image.
Each individual shoe will catch you attention. The fact that all the little things in this room have had time spent on it. The only thing yo don't focus on is the darkness. It is the only thing that does not have detail and that is why it eventually eye catching.
The post-apocalyptic landscape that is painted is very interesting. This makes the questions pile up. This is why this can be considered a mysterious image.

Karina Samuel

4/21/2017 09:28:26 pm

This image by artist Lori Nix is from one of series called "The City”. The right side of the image looks like a shoe store with the multiple shelves of a variety of shoes. But, their is cardboard boxes of all sorts to be scattered, ripped, and busted on the concrete floor. In the back, their seems to be a wallpaper background of a building with windows. Hanging from the ceiling are fluorescent lights lighting the room.

This correctly exposed photograph is also in focus. I believe that when editing the image, white balance was applied judging by the appearance of the lighting. Even though this photo is literally an image of a literal mess, the composition is quite pleasing to look at. It can be a bit confusing initially, but the use of positive and negative space creates a visual balance. The horizontal lines of the shoe shelves indicate calmness and passiveness. So even though our eyes immediately draw the chaos in the middle, Nix’s use of lines also creates a balance.

I really admire Nix’s visual. This image depicts an abstract way of viewing how big metropolitan cities like New York function. The colorful, propped shoes represent the flashiness of the city with the celebrities and big corporations. They are isolated in their own part of the room. However, the beaten rubble and boxes take up the majority of the space. This represents the most of the every day residents in that city. No box is alike, they all have their own bents and tears that makes them who they are. This also applies to people.

This unique form of photography, faux-landscaping, is something I never seen before. I don’t love it simply because it isn’t my style. However, I do appreciate it for it looks like a lot of work has been put into it. Not only do you have to create your story and vision as an artist, but you also have to create the tedious set. It probably takes a lot of money to make images like these. Also, I appreciate the message this photograph depicts of the authentic structure of a metropolitan city, It is not just all glamor.

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Period 3 -- Critical Analysis #20

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