© Zora Murff Today you will be writing about this image by artist Zora Murff, which is from his series 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--
Isabella Grossman
11/6/2019 12:08:32 pm
This image is taken of a boy sitting on stairs outdoors. The image is intentionally staged so that The handle of the stairs block his eyes. The boy is resting comfortably on the stairs, not too posed or in a stressed position. The colors in the photo are cooler colors, lots of greys which makes most of the image quite muted and lifeless. The stair handle is red which provides contrast to the cool greys and blue hues of the image. The lighting is natural because it is taken outdoors however it was not taken in harsh sunlight. The main focus of the image is the boy: he wears broken-in blue jeans, old black sneakers, and an oversized button down shirt. This wardrobe feels very natural and specific to the figure in the image which goes parallel with his relaxed nature.
Ben Barlow
11/6/2019 09:55:44 pm
In Zora Murff’s series titled Corrections, he intends to photograph juvenile criminals by using his camera as a way to see them from a different, more honest perspective. With the setbacks young juveniles face today, many feel there are preconceptions towards them that keeps them from having a more successful life. His brother, Andre, had to deal with many charges placed on him at a young age, which was the motivating force for Murff to become a mentor to guide criminals back to a more normal life. Working for several years as a tracker at his local detention center, Murff learned from his experience that more often than not, particular socioeconomic circumstances heavily influence whether the youth will become a reoffender. This particular image is taken of one of the minors he helped during his time as a tracker. Being unable to reveal his identity, Murff frames the picture around his subject while still obstructing his eyes. Taking place on a staircase, this particular scene could possibly be the location of where a crime was committed. The color of foliage behind contrasting with the grey concrete nature suggests that the setting might be in a park of some kind. Overall, the lighting in the image is good, everything is visible and it appears to be midday. The subject is sitting on the stairs, facing another direction with his face pointed towards the camera.
Nathan Harrison
11/7/2019 06:06:06 am
This image shows a minor sitting on steps with his eyes covered by some wooden handle. The lighting of the image indicates that the picture was taken during the day with the sun being covered by clouds. With the contents of the image, the setting of which the picture was taken could be any park, or in front of a building with steps and trees. With the decent amount of dead leaves on the ground, we could conclude that the picture was taken sometime during the fall.
chloe clark
11/7/2019 12:35:35 pm
Zora Murff’s image consists of a young boy sitting on a small set of concrete stairs. A red, old, wooden post is blocking his eyes out of the picture. There is a dark forest in the background. The color of the wooden post combined with the leaves and forest gives off a fall vibe. The lighting in this image is fairly bright, except the trees in the background have a darkness to them.
Kellen Dukatnik
11/7/2019 05:31:31 pm
The image depicts a boy sitting on a stair-step looking in an agitated state, and the railing partially covers his face. The boy is sitting in front of a school or juvenile detention center. The colors include blue, black, maroon, grey, green, brown, white. The lighting is outdoor lighting on a day with overcast, kind of dark. What is happening in the picture is that the boy is sitting on the steps upset over something.
Flint Rose
11/7/2019 05:35:32 pm
This piece is one of a teenager sitting on a set of steps. You can only see his mouth and nose, the rest is covered by the rails for the steps. The colors are very bright, this makes the black tee shirt the kid is wearing stand out a lot more. The trees in the back have their leaves, but there are orange leaves on the ground so it appears to be the start of fall. The steps could be to his house, but are more likely to his school or facility because of the fact that we can see more steps in the background.
Abby Muir
11/7/2019 07:21:04 pm
The image is of a teenage boy sitting on concrete steps strewn with leaves. The boy’s face is partially covered by a red wooden handrail on the steps. The image uses muted greys, blacks, blues, and reds to make the image almost look calm. There are some darker shadows in the upper right corner, but everything is naturally lit. The boy in the image looks like he’s thinking or sad. He’s sitting alone, so it makes me think that he’s almost waiting for something. 11/7/2019 07:28:20 pm
The image is of a boy sitting on the steps of somewhere. The colors are mostly dark or gray. The lighting causes the photo to have many shadows and gives off the impression of a cloudy day. The wooden railing on the stairs obscure the boy’s face out of view but he is still looking at the camera. 11/7/2019 07:35:42 pm
One of the specifics of the picture is how the photographer purposely covered his eyes because the kid maybe was crying or has red eyes from how bad they treat kids in the asylum . Comments are closed.
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