Period 5 -- Critical Analysis #21

4/27/2017

For your final critical analysis, you will be writing about a photograph made by artist Gregory Crewdson.

Write 5 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.

Read this short biography for Crewdson before you write:

Gregory Crewdson is an American photographer best known for staging cinematic scenes of suburbia to dramatic effect. His surreal images are often melancholic or disturbing, offering ambiguous narrative suggestions and blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality, thanks to the artist’s painstaking preparation of elaborate sets, lighting, and cast. “My pictures are about a search for a moment—a perfect moment,” Crewdson has explained. Born on September 26, 1962 in Brooklyn, NY, the artist works with large production teams to scout and shoot his images. His work has been exhibited widely, notably including solo exhibitions at Gagosian Gallery in New York, the San Diego Museum of Art, and White Cube in London, among many others. A 1988 graduate of the Yale School of Art, he has served on its faculty since 1993 and is currently the director of its graduate studies in photography. The artist lives and works in New York, NY.

Robert McAllen link

4/27/2017 11:32:42 am

The image seems to be about a boy that is reaching down the the drain of the shower. I think that he is trying to get his keys or something that is important. The image uses soft colors for the top half of the image such as blue, pink, brown, white, and various light greens. The image includes a toilet, a sink, a cabinet, a shower, and a person that is trying to catch something that he dropped.

I think that the image is a well mix between underexposed and overexposed. I do find this image to have more parts that are underexposed such as areas near the drains. They seem to be to dark to the point where you can hardly see the bottom. The image has no pixelation, and the colors of the image seem to be correct. The colors of the image shows the two themes that the image shows. The top part shows normal life, and the bottom part shows the deep ugly underground.

I think that the image is pleasing to look at near the top half. The bottom part of the image looks pretty gross and ugly. The image uses the third person view because in order to see the whole image you need to use third person. The negative space of the image includes the areas around the shower and parts of the drains. The positive space of the image is the boy.

The first theme that comes to mind when I look at this image is obviously mystery because we don't know why and what he is reaching for in the drain. I think that the story behind the image is that the person lost his keys and he has been looking for it for days, as he is about to give up he hears a rattling noise coming from the drain of the shower so he opens it and tries to look for them.

I like the photograph because I think that the photographer is trying to imply the theme of mystery in modern day life. Like in the photograph he shows mystery by showing the boy reaching for "something". I think that the photograph is successful because it has a good theme and meaning as well as using colors to make the image pop.

Eric Hammond

4/27/2017 11:33:56 am

This is a photograph of a bathroom. The bottom third of this photo is underground. The middle third is the bottom part of the bathroom. the top third of the photo is the top half of the bathroom. there is a color difference between the top and middle third.

the middle third is blue and the top third is pink. in the center of the photo there is a shower with a young teenage boy in it. the boy is only wearing white underwear. The drain is ripped out and is sitting down the floor. the boy appears to be reaching down the hole where the drain was.

On the right of the shower there is a sink with a cabinet above it. on the right side of the sink there is a toilet and towel rack. there are 2 pink towels on the towel rack. on the left side of the shower there is a bathtub. above the bathtub there is another towel rack with more pink towels on it.

on the floor there are 3 bathmats and a scale. the bathmats are pink and the scale is black and white. On the right wall there is an open door that shows a little bit of the hall way. the bottom half of the hallway wall is pink and the top half is light blue. on the left wall there is a window letting in a bit of natural light.

the coloring in this photo is very strange. most of the colors are either a shade of blue or a shade of pink. the rule of thirds was not used in this photo. i don't like this photo because of the sad, mystical mood that this photo has. this looks like it was taken out of a scene in a horror movie.

Mary Warder

4/27/2017 11:34:18 am

This image portrays a boy in the scene of a bathroom. The boy is reaching into the ground, and his arm has broken through. Underneath the floor where he has broken through, the pipes beneath the bathroom are visible. Next to the boy is the shower drain, and you can see his hand is reaching down into the place where the drain was. Because of his position and the look on his face, it seems as though the boy may be searching for something.

Although there is some sunlight coming in through a window, this image contains mostly dark shadows. Because of this, the image appears to be slightly underexposed. The entire image is in focus, and the resolution is adequate. No part of the image appears blurry or not clearly seen. The image seems to be color correct, as all of the whites/blacks appear as they should.

The composition of this image helps you better understand what is happening. Everything is laid out in a common, easy-to-see way. Despite this understandable composition, the way the piping underneath the bathroom is placed causes curiosity to rise. The point of view of this image is straight on, as if taken by somebody looking at the boy (third person.) The rule of thirds does not appear to be being used, as the subject, the boy, is in the center of the image.

The focal point is the boy in the center. The lines of the shower curtain, the shower itself, the bath, and the tiles on the wall help lead your eyes to the subject. Although there is plenty of positive space in this image, there is also some negative space. The positive space is the boy, the shower, the sink, the toilet, etc. The negative space includes the empty walls and even the gray piping underneath the room. This image is asymmetrical, but appears to be balanced at the same time. The edge of the frame cuts off whatever could possibly be through the doors of the bathroom. I believe this image is noteworthy because it causes you to think.

I think this image could be representative of the search for something, even in a common place. The boy appears to want something, whatever it may be, and is searching for it even in the ordinary setting of his home. This could be symbolic for anybody that is searching for something, even if they're stuck in one place. I don't believe this image really challenges society or beliefs. Despite this, the image does make you think about what could possibly be in the places that you don't look. I do like this image because of the way it causes you to ask questions and consider things that may not usually be thought about.

Samantha Dickie link

4/27/2017 11:39:59 am

This image shows a bathroom which shows the bathroom itself and the floor under the bathroom with the pipes and and wires. The character within the photo is in the center of the image, is a boy, who seems to be striped down to his underwear. This boy is also attempting to reach down into the drain and fix the shower piping. The bathroom is very neat and tidy and has regular bathroom appliances such as a bathtub, shower, toilet, and a cabinet. The colors within the photo are mainly pink and blue which contrast each other.

The image is perfectly exposed but does include shadows. There is also a contrast between the underground area and the bathroom itself because of the differences in light. The image is in full focus and therefore has a deep depth of field. The colors do look correct, however the shadowing does affect the brightness of the color. there is no pixilation and there is adequate resolution.

In my opinion, the top part of the image is pleasing to look at but the bottom part isn't. The top is pleasing because it includes a contrast of color which is pleasing to the eye. The bottom is not pleasing because it just includes pipes and has meek colors. The focal point is definitely the shower with the boy in it. The leading lines of the blue tile lead you to the shower. The light from the window coming into the bathroom also directs you to the shower.

The theme of this image is mainly curiosity. The boy has taken out the drain of the shower and is sticking his hand into the shower hole to see what is down there. The boy is curious to know what he can't or is not allowed to see. The artist made this image to showcase feelings of curiosity. The artist wants you to understand what it is like to be curious and not understand something.

This image reminds me of the murder-mystery shows where one person was curious about something which leads to the bad and start stuff in the show or movie. This image is interesting because it makes us wonder what the boy is thinking about. It is also beautiful because of the contrasting colors and the curiosity behind it all. I like this image because of the mystery, but also because of the pleasing bathroom which has so much organization. This photograph was successful because it allows for us to wonder what is going on.

Yara Akhrass link

4/27/2017 11:40:22 am

This photograph was taken by American photographer: Gregory Crewdson. It shows a young teenager in a bathroom shower. He is shown reaching his hand down the drain like he is looking for something. The bathroom has necessity bland things in a bathroom like a sink, toilet, cabinet, and a bathtub. This photograph shows the drainage system part of the house and shows all the pipes and everything that is usually under a bathroom.

In this photograph, there are around four sources of lighting coming into the bathroom. The first source is the window: covers the left side of the bathroom, the ceiling light: brings off light to the ceiling and the shower, the light on the bathroom shines the mirror and the areas near it, and finally the open door opens and provides light to the whole room. This photograph is in crisp focus. The coloring in this photograph is kind of dull, kind of boring with the bland colors.

This photograph is pleasing to look at because of the showing of the drainage system. Lines are being used in this photograph like the tile on the wall, the lining of the shower, and mostly everything is pointing downwards to show the drainage system. The focal point of this phovogaph is probably the boy's arm shown when reaching down. There is negative space on the outer corners of the photograph. The point of view of this photograph is third person because the entire room is being shown and so is the drainage system as well.

There are many themes and ideas one could think of when looking at this photograph because of how symbolic it looks. Gregory Crewdson's father was a psychotherapist and when the photograph was young, he would try to listen to what his father and his patients were talking about. I believe that this photograph represents his childhood and the ways he would think of in order to try to listen to the conversations. I believe this photograph reminds me of season 1 of American Horror Story when the main character's father is also a psychotherapist and she always finds herself getting somehow involved with her father's patients. I believe that this photograph is noteworthy.

I really like this photograph because of the symbolism and ideas that pop into my head when looking at it. Just by taking a glance I can think of many ideas like a boy trying to look for something and a boy trying to find something even more deeper than an object like his identity or something. Overall, this photograph really gets me to think. Because of this I find it to be a very successful photograph.

Emmet Owen

4/27/2017 11:41:31 am

This photograph by Gregory Crewdson depicts a boy in the shower. This photo was staged in order to convey the message that Crewdson wanted. The photograph shown on the top portion is during the morning. The bottom half appears to be during the night. I am not quite sure the reason that he is sticking his hand down the drain.

The rule of thirds is not being used in the photograph. The lighting is dark and casts shadows throughout the image. The window, lightrod, light, and the room to the right are all sources of light. There is a lot of negative space around the edges of the photograph. The lines direct the eye towards the center of the photograph.

The shutter speed did not need to be fast in order to make this photo. The iso is just right because the photograph does not appear grainy. The photo was most likely edited in photoshop to make it seem more realistic. There are tools on the ground along with a drainage pipe. He most likely used these tools to take out the pipe.

The boy is reaching down as if he were searching for something. I do not understand what he is looking for exactly. There is nothing underneath the house except for dirt and pipes. This photograph was taken in 2002. You can tell it is a bit outdated due to the colors and items shown in the house.

I do not like this photograph. I feel that it is too staged and the pipe looks unrealistic. The image is not very pleasing to look at because it is too dark. It also does not give much insight to the meaning behind the image. I feel like this photo could have been executed better.

Will Carsten link

4/27/2017 11:42:24 am

In this image,it shows a boy reaching into the drain of his shower.It is using dark colors to show mystery in this image.The lighting is very bright above on the ground floor, but then gets darker as it shows beneath the floor. There is a sink, shower, bath, toilet and numerous other objects in this image. In the image, the young man toke off the drain cover and stuck his hand down it.

The image is not underexposed, but a bit overexposed around the window. The image is in focus on the man reaching his hand down the drain. All colors are correct, they were not altered in any way. There is not any pixelation in this image. The composition in this images makes it more pleasing to look at.

The rule of thirds is being used in the image by placing the the shower and floor in the top part of the picture. This was taken from a first person point of view. This image is framed by the flooring in this image, which appears to split the image in half. The lines from the shower pointed my eyes towards his hand sticking through the floor. The image is actually very well balanced.

There is no extra space in the image, the image is filled with positive space.At the end of this image, the door is being cut off by the frames.Most of the negative space is in the bottom half of the image. The theme of this image is to show exploration, maybe even curiosity. There could be a story being told in this image.

The artist made this image to show the art of exploration? This image reminds me of a dream I've had before. It brings a question to my head and that is, why did he take the drain out? Why did he make the image split to show both sides of the room? The image is quite exquisite in the end. Overall these images would sell for a lot of cash, and the author would enjoy making these.

Isabela Ruiz

4/27/2017 11:42:49 am

This image is taken in an old bathroom with a boy reaching down through the floor. The boy is half naked. He is sitting on his knees with chest down reaching through the floor for something. The colors are very mysterious looking. The colors are pink and blue. The lights are very mysterious looking with a peak of sun light shinning on the wall of where the tub is. Below the floor there are pipes that are very rusty and the lightning is a dark mysterious blue. In this image the boy somehow manages to get his arm through the floor. The arm is hanging under the tile floor and stranded by itself with the pipes. I have no idea what the boy is trying to reach for because under the bathroom there is nothing.

The image is not over exposed or under exposed. This image is perfectly exposed.The image is in focus and focused of the boy and the arm under the bathroom hanging. The first thing you see when you look at this image is the boy but then you see the stage arm under the tile floor. The colors in this image is correct. There is no pixelation in this image.

This image is pleasing to look at because you want to figure out how and why the boy is trying to reach under the floor. Many thoughts go through your mind trying to figure out the image. The rule of thirds in this image is not being used. The focal point is the boy reaching under the floor. The point of view is first person. The positive space in this image is in the bathroom and behind the boy. The negative space is under the bathroom and the dark color blue being shown.

I believe that the theme this photographer was trying to do was a mysterious type of image. The story in this image is not very clear to me. If i had to guess i believe that the boy was confused and wondered what was under his bathroom. He somehow manages to get his arm through the floor and that is how this image is a success on making the image a mysterious image. This image does not remind me of anything of my childhood.

This image is very nice to look at because of the colors being used. The colors really do compliment each other and work with the theme of mysterious. I do like this image. I like this image because it is not basic and i have never seen this before. This image to me is successful. It is successful because the image makes me ask myself questions and makes me wonder interesting thoughts.

allison dickie link

4/27/2017 11:46:50 am

This image, made by Gregory Crewdson, shows a teenage boy who is in the shower, wearing only underwear. The boy seems to have taken the drain out from the bottom of the shower and is now reaching down into the whole in the ground. Along with the shower, there is also a toilet, a bathtub, and a vanity in the bathroom. However, there is also a section of the image that shows what is under the bathroom. In the top half of the image, the main colors are light blue and pink and in the bottom they are darker blues and black.

This image is perfectly exposed and has the perfect lighting probably because it was photographed in a studio. The image is in focus and the main focal point seems to be the boy reaching into the drain. There is also correct color in the photograph. Along with this, there is no pixelation and adequate resolution. The rule of thirds is not being used in this image because the focal point of the image is directly in the center.

The composition of this image is very pleasing to look at because of the different sectors of the image and how they complement each other. The photographer took this image as an outsider looking in, which would probably mean the point of view is 3rd person. There are lines in the image that direct the viewers eyes and the most important ones are the edges of the shower which direct your eye down towards the piping system. The focal point of the image is also being framed by the outer edges of the shower. The subject, however, doesn't fill the frame and the extra space is filled with other details of the bathroom.

The theme behind this image seems to be the idea of wondering what is beyond our normal and everyday life. Especially in this day, young people especially seem to want to learn about everything they aren't allowed to know. This is represented but the boy reaching in from the light and pretty normal space where he is comfortable into the dark and scary world he doesn't understand. This reminds me of the childhood story "Alice in Wonderland" where Alice, the main character, travels from the normal world she lives in to a world she does understand. Alice, is like the boy in this image because they both aren't satisfied by the typical and real world in which they live.

This image doesn't question the challenges or beliefs of the viewers, however it gives a challenge to them to explore the parts of the world they don't understand. This is why I believe it is noteworthy, because the image creates a desire to do something within the views mind, which I've never seen before. Personally, I do love this image because it is very detailed and relates well to teenagers my age. This photograph is also successful because of the artist who took the image, and the great quality and story of the image. I also believe that this image will continue to be successful because people are naturally curious.

Bailey Dietzmann

4/27/2017 11:47:43 am

This is a photograph of a boy in his shower reaching down a drain. The image shows what is underneath the drain and the posts supporting the floor. The rusted drain itself is beside the little boy. The colors are blue and pink. The color that pops out is the wooden chest to the right of the shower. The curtain is wide open and pushed to the left of the shower. There is a hint of sunlight beaming in through a small window on the side of the bath. It is illuminating the towels over the bath.

The lighting is underexposed and seems to be studio-lighted. The photograph is in focus due to the focal point of the picture (the boy) being clearly portrayed. There is no pixelation in the photo because the photograph is correctly composed. The image is pleasing to look at because of how strange it is. You will not find another photo like this.

The photograph was taken from the bug's eye view. The focal point is of the boy leaning his arm down the drain. The image is framed by a black outlining that fades as it get closer to the drain's rubble. The lines are really shown in the bottom of the drain. They are all within the detailed tubes and pipes underneath. The negative space is everything else but the leaning, young boy.

The theme of the photograph is that humans are very curious and suspicious. The boy was interested to see what was underneath the drain so he took the drain away and put his hand down there. I believe that the reason why this artist created this image was to show people how bizarre a piece of artwork can be. This doesn't remind me of anything because I have never pictured or seen someone sticking their hand down a drain and then seeing what was underneath the drain. The image is beautiful because of how unique is.

I like this piece of artwork because you will never find something like it. It is so random and bizarre and that is what makes it so great. The lighting sets the tone of the theme and idea and it all works really well together. The photograph is successful because it was beautifully composed and had no pixelation. The artist made the viewer really question the motives behind it and to try and understand what the photograph was really of.

Kristina Samuel

4/27/2017 11:50:02 am

The photograph above portrays a straight on shot of a staged scene. The picture includes an actual stage where the set of a bathroom seems to be shown. We view the inside of a shower and a man reaching into the drain, with his arm going through and seen dangling from under the stage. Even though this photograph was taken on a stage, the scene is lit up by natural light coming through from the window.

The photograph itself seems a little dark, but the light filtered from the window and the artificial light inside actually highlights the scene pretty well. The photograph also seems in focus with a deep depth of field. The color scheme also seem a little pink overall, but this may be just the paint on the walls having this effect. Also there isn't any pixelation. The resolution is excellent in this photo.

The composition of the photo is very posed and structured. However, there is still an aspect of this picture that depicts a caught in the moment scene. There are a lot of details in the composition, but the main focus is the shower and the man reaching his hand down. This is also where the light highlights the photograph the most giving it almost a glowing affect which attracts the eyes. The photograph is also pretty well balanced in having an equal amount of "stuff" on either side of the shower. There are also contrasting lines from the horizontal aspect of the stage to the vertical lines of the shower, the pillars, and even the man's arm.

The photograph, maybe from the lighting or the color scheme, is almost dream like or surreal. Also, the two contrasting areas from the bright domestic bathroom to the dark and brooding underground is interesting as well. Crewdson may have wanted to suggest the contrast between humanity and darkness and how we as a species are so close to touching this. Or it can suggest that humanity, as established as it is, still tries to reach or understand the unknown. Regardless, the main theme of light vs darkness is very prominent in this piece.

Overall it is an interesting photograph to look at and successful since there are many interpretations of it. I personally enjoy the color scheme of the photograph because it has a cooler tone, but is still inviting to me as a viewer. The multiple sources of light is also an interesting aspect and shows how well thought out the composition of the photograph is. Even though the photograph is shot on a stage, there is still a personal and intimate feeling of the scene taking place inside a bathroom. Crewdson manages to evoke many types of emotions even from something as formal and "set up" as this picture.

Rylin

4/27/2017 11:51:40 am

This image is of a boy reaching down below his shower floor. The image also shows that the boy used tools such as a hammer and a screwdriver in order to remove the shower drain. The boy now has access to the pipes below the shower, but it is unclear what his intentions were. The lighting in the image is studio set-up, because this image was set up by Gregory Crewdson, so the lighting is intentional. The objects included in the image are the boy, the shower, and other bathroom necessities such as a toilet, bath tub, sink, and cabinet.

In the image, I think the boy is reaching below the shower because he's curious as to what is there. Another possibility is that he dropped something down the shower drain and he is trying to retrieve it. The image is not underexposed or overexposed, but just right. The image is in focus, with the boy being the clear subject. All the colors look correct and there is adequate resolution because the image does not look blurry or pixelated.

The composition is pleasing to look at because the dark blues and the light pink of the bathroom complement each other nicely. The rule of thirds is not being used because the boy is centered in the image. The point of view in the image is 3rd person. The angle from which the photographer took the photo was facing the front of the the boy, but the right side of the bathroom. The focal point is the boy, and he is framed by the shower that is surrounding him.

The subject of the boy doesn't fill the frame because the rest of the bathroom can be seen in the image. The frame crops off some of the bathroom door on the right side of the image. There isn't really nay negative space in the image because there is something in almost every corner. Gregory Crewdson made it a point to make the image look like a legit bathroom, and by including the small things like febreeze and shampoo, he definitely succeeds. The themes of the image is the mystery, curiosity, and discovery.

The story being told in the image describes a boy who for whatever reason, wanted to get to the pipes underneath the shower. He go the tools and he accomplished his mission. He could have just been curious as to what was down there, or he wanted to access the pipes for a purpose. The artist made this image because he possibly wanted to relate it to the times when he pressed his head against the floor to listen to conversations his dad would have with his patients. I think the image is interesting an beautiful because it can be interpreted in many different ways.

Tamyka Mena

4/27/2017 11:54:54 am

The image is of a teenage boy in the shower reaching for something that fell through the drain. The photograph contains many cool tones. However, pinks and blues stand out the most. The bathroom lighting seems to be fluorescent but the sunshine coming from the window warms it up. The majority of objects in the image are things you'd typically find in a bathroom: towels, sink, and a scale.

I think an important thing to note in the image is the fact that the medicine cabinet is open. I think this signals that he might have some sort of mental issue. That is probably why he unscrewed the drain just to get something that fell in the shower. He either hassle sort of disorder or he is just a very curious boy. Either way, the situation is very strange.

The exposure of the image is just fine. It is not underexposed. Also, the entire image is in focus. However, the colors do not seem correct. The is because the whites don't look as white as they should look. There is no pixelation in the photograph.

The composition is very pleasing to look at. The way all the objects in the bathroom are arranged is very nice. The focal point of the image is the boy. He is being framed by the shower. The vertical lines of the underground poles really direct your eye to the ground. The subject does not fill the frame which is a good thing. The bathroom setting rally adds to the overall mood of the image.

I think the theme of the photograph is curiosity. He made this image because his father's a physiotherapist and he often tried to listen to his fathers conversation as a kid. I can definitely relate to this. I used to try and listen to my parents conversations all the time because I was a curious child. Overall, the image is quite beautiful because of the message it conveys.

Montserrat Martinez

4/27/2017 11:59:16 am

Crewdson's photograph shown above is of a man reaching into the drain from his bathroom. Basically, it looks a though he lost something, or simply accidentally dropped the soap. It looks as though he's reaching and searching for the something that's underneath the main picture. I believe this can be a reference to Crewdson's father being a psychotherapist, or simply intent of Crewdson himself to portray how he's trying to reach us, the audience, from our emotional core to the outside. Either one could work in my opinion.

According to what I was told, Crewdson's pictures can be easily identified because they usually share one common feature. That being, that in preparation of the photo a stage is literally constructed to fit whatever the "scene" might be. So, In this photograph we can even see the supporting columns of underneath the stage that essentially hold up everything else. This photograph follow the rule of thirds very precisely, maybe intentionally. The stage previously talked about is divided in perfect thirds; (from left to right) we see the bathtub, a shower, and the toilet with a mirror. These three elements are equally spaced out throughout the space provided.

Because we know that Crewdson's pictures are staged, I can immediately assume that elements such as lighting are under the photographer's influence. The usage contrasting warm and cool colors are also being controlled. I specially like the wall's light blue and pink hues on the background. Also, the fact that the "middle image" is the white walled shower which momentarily divides these light hues, creates emphasis on the walls and the man reaching down his shower's drains. I love that.

There's something creepy about the picture. In fact, I would say that Crewdson's photograph could actually fit into the theme we are currently exploring; mystery. Do we know what this man is reaching for? More importantly, do we know what could be down there? Nope. That is up to us to decide. That is what I love about this photograph; not only does it make you question what happens next, but you have the opportunity to conclude the narrative shown within the exposure.

Finally, I can say that I love this photograph. It is so unique from what I've seen before, and it clearly keeps one wondering what possibly could've caused Crewdson to come up with such an idea. I wouldn't object to seeing more of his work. Frankly, I'd go to a gallery to check out more of his works. For now, I will stick to looking up more of his photographs and articles.

Hannah Lashway

4/27/2017 12:03:03 pm

The image shown was shot by Greg Crewdson, he is a photographer who graduated from Yale School of Art. He nows serves as the director of photography at Yale. His photographs focus on suburban or home environments that are dramatized to a point of surrealism. As a photographer he is recognized for his elaborate sets. Most of his photographs have a contrast in color or a monotone setting to invoke the idea of melancholy or sadness.

This image in particular is set in a bathroom and is divided by the floor of the house. In the center of the image a boy is sitting in the shower and is reaching down and past the floor of the house. Below the floor we can see beams which are presumably support beams for the house along with various other pipes. In the bathroom the boy sits partially naked, and in front of him sit various tools along with the shower drain. There is a stark difference between the bathroom and the space below the bathroom floor.

The image uses the rule of thirds in the sense that the first third of the room is to the left of the shower and the last third is to the right of the shower; this implies that the shower is the second third and also the center of the photograph. The room is also split horizontally by the bathroom floor. Though initially it appears there is only natural lighting, if you look to the right of the shower, you can see three fluorescent lights on either side of a mirror/medicine cabinet. The focal point of the image is the boy. There are many lines in this image, from the sides of the shower to the tiles on the wall or even the division between the house and below it or the support beams of the house. The photograph is very balanced and symmetrical, almost in a surreal way.

The colors in the photograph evoke different emotions as the top half is primarily pink along with various other colors which promote a feeling of warmth. Below the bathroom floor there is only dark blues and black which promote a feeling of cold and loneliness. Perhaps this is just coincidence but i noticed that everything is left open; the shower curtain, the windows, the cabinet below the sink and the medicine cabinet above it along with the toilet. Im not sure what this means, perhaps it could suggest rushed behavior or the desire to get something over with or to get to something. The boy is reaching down below the floor which may indicate he has a desire to be alone or feels unwanted or alone. It isn't clear what he is reaching for or if for anything at all; maybe he just wants to escape.

I really enjoy this image and would enjoy seeing it in a gallery. I think the image has a strong composition primarily because of the angle it was taken from. The angle is unique and has a strong appeal to it because it gives you two perspectives. The photograph leaves you with questions which is never a bad thing. These questions are what make the photo not only surreal but an overall good photograph.

Poni Bryan

4/27/2017 12:07:39 pm

The image above is of a young man who I reaching for something within the drain of his shower. The man is in a bathroom will outdated interior and the drain system is seen beneath the floor of the bathroom. Colors seen in this photo are blue and pink. The walls of the bathroom have pale pink tint and the tile is blue. The towels are pink and the drain system its self is blue. The lighting beneath the floor is dark and has shadows and the only thing lit beneath the floor is the mans hand. The lighting above the floor is bright and sunlight is coming in through a window.

The image is underexposed beneath the floor, but everything is still clearly visible due to studio lighting. The area above the floor is perfectly exposed by the "sunlight" coming in through the window and the bathroom lights. The image is in perfect focus, since everything is clearly visible. The color looks correct, but Crewdson probably used photoshop to edit the value and boldness of the colors present in the photo. No pixelation is present and every thing is clearly in focus. The resolution appears adequate.

The arrangement of the object in the photo was done nicely and is overall pleasing to look at. The photo is pleasing to look at because of its composition and the colors being used. The manipulation of light in different areas and shadows is also a nice factor as to why the photo appears interesting to look at. Rule of thirds isn't present because the object of focus, the man, is in the center of the photo. The photo is using third person POV and was taken so that the viewer could see the bathroom and drain system beneath the floor. The photo is framed by the walls of the bathroom and floor. The horizontal and vertical lines of the blue tiles on the wall direct the viewers eyes to the center of the photo: so you automatically look at the man. The image is balanced and the frame is filled, while the remainder of the image is balanced. The image doesn't crop off and the drain system beneath the floor is the negative space. The positive space is the bathroom and the space within it.

A theme this image could be conveying is sadness. The photo could represent how sadness or depression can be mentally. The idea of wanting to get out of the hole depression can put a person in could be seen through how the man is reaching for nothing. He appears as if he dropped something and can't reach it, which is how a person could feel when they're sad. You feel like you want to get out of your sad spell when you can't. Crewdson could've taken this image to show how a thought (sadness) would look if it were a photo of it. The image doesn't remind me of anything in particular but I do see how it could remind someone of sadness. The image isn't really questionable or controversial, but it also isn't straight forward. The image is interesting because the viewer doesn't know what the man is reaching for. I do think that the image is successful because of how relatable it could be mentally.

The photo reminds me depression. In the bathroom cabinet you can see bottles of prescription medicine, which can be prescribed by a psychiatrist or doctor if you're depressed. This can relate to Crewdson because his father was a psychiatrist, this interested Crewdson because he wondered what his father and his patients talked about during sessions.

Sebastian Sotomayor

4/27/2017 12:08:03 pm

The image shows a "bisected bathroom" composed of two sections: the ground-level section, and the underground section. On the ground-level, we can see a bathroom painted pink on the upper walls, with dark blue tiles on the bottom section of the ground. The bathroom is complete with a cubicle style shower (white sides and dark blue, open curtain) a tub on the left side of the shower, and a sink, toilet, and storage mirror (with its own lights) on the right side of the image. Inside the shower cubicle we can see a young man kneeling down to the ground, wearing only his underwear reaching through through the shower drain, unto the underground section of the image. Next to the boy we can see a screwdriver, some rubble, and the drain he took out of his shower's floor. On the underground section of the image, there are various dirty pipes coming from the various water-using appliances found on the ground-floor, and the young man's arm, reaching down underground, far from reaching the ground of the subterranean area. The whole underground area has a musty dark blue color, similar to the color of the shower curtain and the tiling on the ground-floor.

The lighting, as we know, is all created in a studio, but in the image, there seems to be an imitation of sunlight coming in through a window on the upper left corner of the image. There is also evident lighting coming up from the roof (warm artificial light), from the bathroom's mirror (cool artificial light), and from the other sections of the "house" shining through the barely-opened door. From behind the camera, there seems to be a light focusing on the man to give him a spotlight effect, and two separate light sources lighting the underground section; blue light from the right, and white light from the left. The colors in this image are kind of bland, and typical for traditional american bathrooms. The towels in the image bring the contrast of the pinkish wall color to the tiled section of the wall and the underground color and the shower curtain bring some contrast back to the pinkish section of the wall. The colors are used to make the underground section more cold and creepy, while the pink makes the bathroom more "typical" in some ways.

The image is perfectly exposed, and seems to be in perfect focus. The photographer likely used a very deep depth of field to capture all the details in the image. There is no pixelation, and the image is of adequate resolution.

Th image, in my opinion is very pleasing to look at. For starters, the image is separated into distinct sections to focus your attention more specifically by using several lines. There are the upper and bottom sections (created by the floor-line), the shower section (created by the edges of the shower cubicle), and there are the sections created to the left and to the right of the shower edges. The fact that the shower cubicle, along with the man's arm are perfectly centered, makes the image much more satisfying to look at. There are also millions of lines influencing the composition of the image. Examples include the horizontal floor line leads your eye from edge to edge, the horizontal pipes create a eerie, tranquil mood, the vertical pipes the shower edges, and the tiles create a sense of sturdiness in the image. The diagonal sunlight streaks make the image more dynamic. The rule of thirds is also being used in terms of where the photographer placed the towels, the mirror, the sink, and the bathtub. The image also appears to be divided into thirds horizontally, dividing the underground, the tiled wall and the pink area. The POV is from the bisection of the floor, exposing 1/3 of the image below ground, and the rest above. The image is mostly asymmetrical, with the exception of some pipes and the shower.

Overall, I really like the image and believe it is really successful. It leaves the viewer to wander why the boy is reaching underground while making it very visually appealing. It really forces the viewer to truly examine the details. I believe the image narrates the story of a young man who is looking for something that is nearly impossible to find. It reminds me of the typical story of somebody losing something valuable to a drain, and then trying to look for it. What throws me off, though, is the serious and relaxed face the boy id making. If he were to lose something valuable, I would expect him to look more worried and concerned. That mystery is part of what makes this image beautiful. I'm really glad we got an awesome image like this for our final analysis. I really liked it.

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Period 5 -- Critical Analysis #21

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