Period 6 -- Critical Analysis #3

9/28/2017

Today you will be writing about this image by artist Zora Murff. It is from a project titled Corrections. Your analysis must be 4 paragraphs, 5 sentences minimum per paragraph. Remember to post your analysis as a comment to the blog post that corresponds to your class. If you post your analysis to the wrong class's post, it will not be graded.

Below is a project statement written by Murff about his body of work, Corrections:
From 2012 to 2015, I worked as a Tracker for Linn County Juvenile Detention and Diversion Services in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As a Tracker, I provided services to youths who were convicted of crimes, adjudicated, and subsequently ordered to complete probation. Juveniles in my charge were asked to comply with services which may include: electronic monitoring, therapies, drug screening, and community service; it was my responsibility to have continual contact with them to ensure these expectations are met.

Tracking and other similar community-based services are being increasingly used as an alternative to detention facilities. These services, which allow juveniles to stay in their homes, show a higher rate of success than strict incarceration. Although community-based services are built to foster a collaborative relationship between juveniles and service providers, attaining the actualization of teamwork becomes problematic when juveniles feel that they have done nothing wrong, are victims of circumstance, or do not fully understand why they have committed a crime. The system has been put in place to provide rehabilitation, but it is far from being a straightforward process. Many influences outside of the youths' control such as education, socioeconomic status, and race all play a role in whether or not a youth reoffends - all of these factors possessing the propensity to lead them to extended periods of incarceration in the juvenile system or to involvement with the criminal justice system as an adult.

By reconsidering the role that I played in the lives of the kids I worked with, I began to acknowledge the burden that comes with tasking young men and women with continued complicity. My stance as a consequence kept our relationships in a state of flux ranging from stable to tenuous – a constant motion mirroring the discord that develops between the system's intentions and outcomes. Through employing ideas of anonymity, voyeurism, and introspection, Corrections is an examination of youth experience in the system, the role images play in defining someone who is deemed a criminal, and how the concepts of privacy and control may affect their future.

Refer to your "How to See" handout for analyzing a photograph--

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

Your analyses will be graded on:

meeting minimum length requirements
depth of organization
evaluation of the content
grammar/punctuation

Payton Down

9/28/2017 12:22:04 pm

The photo is of a man and he is in a jail cell that cuts off half of his head by the jail cell. There is green and reds and then the white backdrop. He is using these colors to show the dullness of the cell. It is bright in the image but it was a studio set up. There is one person but their face isn't included within the photo. The man is just standing there you can also see his hands resting on his body.
It's not very pleasing to look at just because it's a little bit sketchy because jails usually don't give off a happy and positive setting. It looks very simple there isn't much to the photo rather than it is a man in the cell. The photographer took the photo from a normal perspective maybe a little down to go through the cell door. Deep depth of field is being used because you can see the man clearly in the background. It is framed by the green door and the focus point is the man in the back. The cell wall lines in the back point to the man in the middle if you follow them with your eyes. The image is pretty balanced there isn't something out of the blue to make it not symmetrical. There is extra space he subject doesn't fill the frame. The green door is at the edge of the image.
The theme or idea is that there is a nice dressed man inside of a cell. Maybe that not everyone that goes to jail has done something bad or maybe this man is about to get released into the world and put some nice clothes on. I'm not sure what the intention is but maybe he wants to show people the reality and not be so scared to show the truth. It doesn't remind me of anything. It could possible challenge beliefs or assumptions i just can't see it. It is interesting to try and figure it out and see what it means to you.

I think it's interesting i don't know if i like it or i'm just curious. It is successful as a photograph.

9/28/2017 12:31:41 pm

I like the photo it is very interesting to look at because i don't really know the meaning of the photo and why he does look like he is actually in prison because he is wearing nice clothes. It's a mysterious photo with contradicting aspects. I do like the photo through it shows maybe how this boy or man got into trouble and is being punished. The photograph was very successful because makes you think and try to predict what happening.

boyd meltzer link

9/28/2017 12:26:17 pm

This image depicts a child (what appears to be a teenage boy) trapped in a jail cell. The only visible aspects of his stature are from his lower chest to his thighs. The prison cell door is green, and it is not in focus, making it blurry. The area that is in focus in this image is the interior of the cell, where the boy is. The lighting in the image is contained in the cell, with bright white bricks on the interior. Where the boy’s face would be is the lock on the cell. The boy in the image is simply standing still, perhaps waiting for something to occur.
This composition is not pleasing to look at, in my opinion. This is due to the fact that the sole purpose of the image is to capture a criminal that has been jailed. Also, the majority of the image is blurred. The rule of thirds is in effect because the lines (the opening in the cell and the bricks on the inside) lead to the subject. The photograph is angled so that the face of the subject is not in view. The focal point is clearly the child in the cell. He is clearly framed by the cell opening. The image is also clearly symmetrical. The artist seemed to have made an effort to make the image’s lines as horizontal as possible. The subject does not fill the frame. The edges of the image are entirely encompassed by the door. There is no content around the edges of the image.
The idea of this image is to photograph a convict in a detention center. Perhaps the idea was even to bring a different light to people who we all consider ruthless criminals. Perhaps this boy is innocent or claims to be innocent. This also incorporates the story of the image. In one way or another, this child wound up in a detention center. I believe that the artist’s motives for creating this image is to bring to light the “true nature” of people in these detention centers and to perhaps convince us that they aren’t all bad people. Perhaps some of them were even innocent. This image could even potentially challenge the belief I have about the people in these centers. As of now, I think that most cases like this are justified.
I do not have any specific feelings about the image (whether I like it or not) but I think that the artist did a good job on creating all of the images in his collection. The photograph is successful in my opinion because it does a good job of capturing this situation.

elizabeth wray

9/28/2017 12:29:31 pm

This is an image of what seems to be a boy in a juvenile detention. The focus is on his stomach and upper thighs looking through a small hole . The boy is wearing a red sweatshirt with khaki pants or shorts. The door that the hole is in is a green one with a rectangular opening. The focus is on the boy with the green door blurred a little bit to emphasize the boy. He is standing against a wall and looks very serious.

The photo looks a little scary, the fact that he is in prison scares me especially because it is hard to live in there and not come out the same person you went in as. This may be an innocent young boy who got caught doing something or was accused of a crime he did not commit. The point of view is someone looking through that hole at the young boy. They may be another young man looking at him or maybe a visitor looking at how hurt the boy is being in there. The picture is symmetrical meaning the picture is straight the whole way. If you put the picture in half vertically, you would have two of the same image.

I think the story being told in this image is that anyone can end up in that place, no matter who you are. The image has a scary tone to it. The artist made this image to forewarn the people of what it is like in the prison area. The photographer, Zora Murff, was a tracker in the juvenile detention and helped and cared for the boys. The edges of the image are the edges of the door.

I do like this image because i like the depth of field. It is more focused towards the center of the image, while the sides are blurred out. I feel that that is an interesting effect that the photographer put on it. The photographer was successful in this image because lots of people seem to like it. I like the fact that he went and took pictures of the kids in there with the consent. It sort of tells the story of what it is like to be in there.

9/28/2017 12:29:44 pm

Claire Williams

9/28/2017 12:34:14 pm

This image is of a boy holding his wrists. However, we can’t see the whole boy. The photographer, Zora Murff, made this photograph looking through a jail cell slot and we can only see the boy’s thighs to chest. The main colors being used are green on the cell slot, white on the wall behind the boy, and red on the boy’s sweatshirt. The lighting is exposed very well. You can tell that the lights being used are the fluorescent ones from the ceiling which gives off a sort of white light. Most likely the boy’s position was staged, but I think the photographer is trying to make it look like he i maybe waiting to receive something or to be let inside his cell.

I think it is fairly pleasing to look at because of the interesting cell door slot’s shape, it leads you in so that your attention will be drawn to the boy. It seems like the photographer was squatting to get this angled view. The photographer is using a shallow depth of field which is focused on the boy. Therefore, the green door slot is blurred out but where the boy is standing, the image is very clear. The image is pretty balanced and symmetrical because of how there is not very much going on and where there are lines, they match up almost perfectly with the other half of the exposure.

I think the main theme of this image is the solidarity of an adolescent who is in juvvy. The story seems like this boy is around seventeen years old, and he made a stupid mistake which got him into trouble, and that is why he is there. I think that Zora Murff made this image to show his audience what it is really like for these kids to be in juvenile detention. Many of us, including myself, do not really understand what types of people commit these crimes. I think this image is overall interesting to look at because of how it tells a story and I want to know more about what is going on.

I like this image because of how the photographer expresses his desire to show everyone this. He definitely got his job done by enlightening his audience to discover more. We found out more of what it is like to be so young and being reprimanded for your unlawful actions. By the way that the boy’s hands are crossed so casually, it lets me wonder if this person is contempt with what he had done and how he is making up for it now, or if he is just angry about being there and having to do this. Overall, I think that the photographer was very successful in putting across a small taste of what it is like to be a young person who has done something wrong and is now making up for it.

Annie Mosis

9/28/2017 12:34:22 pm

In this image it picture a person with their arms crossed behind a green door. This door as a slit in it which you can see the person. The person is wearing a maroon shirt and khaki colored pants. This person's arms are also crossed and they're standing behind a cream colored wall. In this picture you can only see there torso and the upper half of their legs. In this image you are unable to see their face. The lighting is very natural and there is a shod that is caused by the slit in the green door. This image is taken in a juvenile jail so I can only assume this person is in their teens.
I find this picture very interesting. I like how the artist doesn't show the subjects face. It leaves the people looking at the picture to wonder who's behind the door. It allows you to make your own prediction on who's behind the door. I also like how the artist made it look like as if you are looking in the slot at the person. Also how the focal point is the person in the slot is the center point. The colors in this picture help capture that this person is what the picture is about. The slit in the dor direct your attention to the person behind the wall.
I like the artist's message behind this picture and all his other images. In these pictures he trying to show the difficulties of being in a juvenile detention center. He depicts the mood and intensity in this picture. Its as if you can feel the guilt through the picture. This picture really captures all the feeling in the pictures and that every decision he makes in the picture is for a reason. Like when he does not show there faces I believe that the artist doesn't want to show the subjects face in order to maybe get a second chance so people can find out stuff about them if they were looking for a job. But without seeing their faces it also adds to the intensity of the picture. It makes the picture more dramatic and allow yourself to think what their emotions or what they look like.
I enjoy this picture very much. I think that it has a great message. I think this picture and more o f his pictures were a success in telling more about what it is like in juvenile detention. I also enjoyed how he did not show their faces in order to keep their identities a secret.

Parker Brown

9/28/2017 12:36:37 pm

The image looks like there is a boy standing in a jail cell.The boy is probably a juvenile delinquent because he looks pretty young.The lighting in the image is kind of bright. The white wall and green door are bright colors so the whole image becomes brighter. In the image it looks like someone is checking on him to make sure he isn’t doing anything he isn’t supposed to do.

I think the image is pleasing to look at. To me the soft green door and the maroon shirt go well together. The point of view the picture was taken at was right at the peek hole through the jail door. The lines of the picture are the four lines that make the rectangle peek hole. The lines make you look directly at the boy standing in the cell.

I think there might be a story behind the image. The boy in the picture could be a mass murderer, and he was put in this jail with the highest security. I think the artist’s intention was to just get you thinking. There is endless reasons why someone could be put in jail, so the artist wanted us to think some reasons. I think the image is interesting. It makes me wonder why the person is in jail.

I do like the image. The image is full of mystery, and unanswered questions. I could just sit and think about why he was put in jail for a while, so it definitely grabs my attention. I think the image is also successful. It successfully makes me stop moving for more than five seconds and think about what is happening in the photo.

Jordan Bell

9/28/2017 12:37:20 pm

This is an image of the middle of what appears to be a teenage boy through a letter opening in a jail door. The young boy is leaning against the cell wall with his hands folded in front of him. The colors used in this photo are green, white and dark read. The lighting is semi- bright as if the photograph was taken mid-day or if there were lights in the room. The only objects in the photo are the boy and the wall and the door. Nothing is happening in this image, it is just a boy leaning against the wall.

The point of view is halfway between eye level and ground level. The depth of field is a shallow depth of field. The focal point is the boy, the subject. The subject is framed by the green door. The lines on the wall and around the opening draws the viewer's attention the subject. The subject does not fill the frame. The image cuts off the majority of the door to the cell and only the mid-section of the subject is in view.

A theme that is conveyed in this image are the feelings of juvenile delinquents. These feelings are standoff-ish, tough and alone. The story being told is the life of a juvenile delinquent. The artist made this image to connect the real world to juvenile delinquents and to tell their story. This image resembles something a movie or TV show would have. This image could challenge the treatment of juvenile delinquents and the way society views them. I think that this image is beautiful because of the colors and the shallow depth of field.

I like this photo because of the way the artist uses depth of field and the colors. The blurred green meshes with the white while contrasting with the burgundy. This image is only half successful. The reason being that without the background information that the artist used to work as a tracker or who that changed him the image is not as powerful. Without this prior knowledge, I would think that it is just a boy standing in what could be a classroom. With the background information I know what the artist is trying to do and, as a viewer, sympathize with the teen knowing that that could have been me.

brandon Collins

9/28/2017 12:41:01 pm

The image is of a fifteen year old boy that is standing in a juvenile detention cell. His hands are intersecting each other with his left hand over his right. The cell walls are plain white with a mix door with light green baby blue-ish door. It is using mainly bright colors the only dark colors are on his maroon shirt and the shadow of the open hatch on the door. The reason for the colors the artist is using is because it's a juvenile detention cell closest thing to a prison cell it's not meant to look nice.The lighting is bright inside and a little outside with the only dark shadow is from the open hatch on the door.
It's not the most pleasing image to look at because it's shows someone around are age in a place that is one step away from prison. The point of view is in third person almost like a officer opened that hatch and is talking to the boy. The depth of field is low because the door is not in focus but the boy and parts of the white wall around him are in focus.the Image is asymmetrical because if you fold the image in half it won't match up. The subject which is the boy kinda fills the screen but not really cause the door is the biggest thing in the photo.
I believe the theme of this image is to show people that kids are not always the victim or the innocent one, not saying that all kids in juvie are bad but it does show some truth about law. There could be a story the kid is dressed some what nice so he could have been locked up and is either being released or is going to court. The image does remind I of something but don't want to say what it's personal.
I don't know how i feel about it. But i could see how people hate it and like it. Like it because its shows the truth about people, hate it because it doesn't seem right to take a picture of someone in a situation like that.

Natalia Orquin

9/28/2017 12:42:00 pm

Specifics:
The image consists of a man visible through the mailbox slot. The door, which makes up most of the picture is a mint green color that contrasts with the man’s maroon long sleeve shirt. The wall through the mailbox slot is a simple neutral tone that does not interfere with the contrast of the man and the door. The lighting is bright and vibrant colors are clearly visible. The man only shows the midsection of his body with his arms crossed.

Form:
The image is very structurally pleasing to observe because the man is right in the middle of the frame, the mailslot is fully opened, and is place horizontally proportionate to the image. The photographer's point of view was an outside perspective looking into the image. The main focal point of the image is framed by the mailbox slot and door. The image is proportionate on all side of the photograph, The shade of the mail slot panel gives the image more dimension

Cintent:
The theme of the image can be that being deemed as a criminal, privacy, and the control that juvenile detention can have on their future. The artist worked as a Tracker for Linn County Juvenile Detention and Diversion Services in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This influence him to create his Corrections series. The image reminds me of like someone sending an anonymous letter because you can’t see the man’s face in the picture or it could also act as anonymous blackmail. This image is very interesting and can be interpreted in many different ways.

Evaluate:
I like this picture because it is very pleasing to look at. The image is symmetrical in every way and the contrast of the colors make the image more likable in my eyes. The photograph can be both successful and unsuccessful because one can interpret this image to their own liking and could miss the artist's meaning of intent or the image could be successful because the photo has some type of meaning to everyone and is relatable in a way.

Will Mauldin

9/28/2017 04:57:39 pm

This image is showing a man standing behind a prison door, only visible through the food slot. The focus is on him, with the door blurred in the foreground. Its using dull colors, such as beige walls and a light green door, and the inmate is seen in grey sweats and a maroon sweatshirt. The lighting is good, because the door is darker than the focus of the man standing behind.

I think this picture is very cool because of the anonymity of the man standing in the cell. You can’t see their face, which makes me wonder more about who the subject is. I see a little bit of thirds, placed horizontally. The first and third thirds are the door, while the second third is inside the cell, showing the torso of the inmate. The depth of field and focal point are both focused on the man inside the cell, with the door out of focus in the foreground. The symmetry of this picture makes it very satisfying to look at.

I think a possible story being told in this image is that prison is a very lonely place. You don’t want to just be seen through a narrow slot in a prison door. I think the artist’s intention with this photo was to show life behind bars for people in a very creative way, while still protecting the inmate safe by keeping him anonymous.

Overall I like this image a lot and think it is a successful photograph.

Kylie Bruehler

9/28/2017 07:03:55 pm

Pictured is a man or a boy, based on the way the person is dressed and how their hands look. The face of the person is not shown, only about a third of the person’s body is shown. The person is standing against a wall and is in focus. The picture was taken through some sort of opening in a wall or on a door. It looks as it could be a mail drop. The person has their hands crossed and based on the position the person is in, looks aware that the picture is being taken. The fact that the boy is in focus but his face is not shown might be a meaning that the photographer intended.

Though the boy does not take up but a fairly small part of the picture, he is still the object in focus and is the subject of the picture. I think that the photographer intended for only a small part of the boy to be pictured. The photographer did not want the face or identity of the person pictured to be seen. This might be that the person being photographed did not want their identity to be shown or this might be trying to tell that the person feels like they do not have an identity or do not know who they are.

The photographer only pictured a few different colors. The green wall or door opening takes up most of the image and through the opening, the boy is pictured wearing a red sweater and brown pants, standing in front of a white wall. The photographer might have taken the picture through the small opening to indicate that the boy is trapped or feels trapped. The way that the boy’s hands are resting makes him look innocent and harmless but the fact that he is behind the door or wall might mean otherwise.

This photo is simple and not much is happening but at the same time the image is telling a bigger story. When looking at this image, I wonder why the boy’s face isn’t seen. I wonder why the boy is behind the door and why the photographer is taking the picture through the small opening. I do not think that this image is particularly visually pleasing but I like the idea of the subject’s face being covered. The subject remains unidentified but is still telling a story. This image is successful as a whole.

Lucas Prado

9/28/2017 07:11:15 pm

This image is of a person, presumably a male juvenile delinquent, looking through a wide latch used for mail. The person is holding their hands together as though they are shy or nervous. The person is wearing a red sweater and khaki pants, with the rest of their clothes out of shot. The person is leaning against a white brick wall. The rest of the shot is against a pale green door with a latch and a lock, both of which are out of focus.

This image contains a shallow depth of field, with only the background with the person being in focus. The main focal point of this image is the person, with them not only being in focus but also being at the center of the image and with the latch narrowing the focus onto them. The image is symmetrical, with the lock and latch being in the center of the image and the person directly behind them. With the person in the background, there is lots of extra space in the image, yet the majority of it is fairly monotonous and directs focus back to the person.

The main story behind this image seems to be a juvenile who just got arrested. After being arrested, they are escorted to a cell at the end of a hall, which is where this shot takes place. The kid may very well be nervous or anxious or regretful, as indicated by their hand positioning. The main intention of this project seems to be to give more insight into the lives of juvenile delinquents and show how they are just about normal people as well. This image may well challenge how we often think of all criminals as tough gang members who get into fights, yet many incarcerated people are just that: people.

I like this photo, as it sheds some light as to how some juvenile delinquents actually are. I think that this image is successful in showing part of the actual side of being a juvenile delinquent, as opposed to what we often think of criminals. This image shows that they are more ordinary people who just do bad things, as opposed to what we usually think of. Perhaps this photo serves as a warning to the judgments that we all hold inside us. Or it could just be a neat portrait. Either way, the photo is successful.

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Period 6 -- Critical Analysis #3

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