A young girl is playing outside. However, she isn't playing with the other children. She is sitting on a trampoline all by herself, while the boys are wrestling in the background. Past the boys wrestling is one little boy climbing over the fence. There is some type of mystery to this photograph. Did the girl choose to be alone? Was she shunned by the other boys? (slam.org)
Anna Kuperberg doesn't just want viewers seeing people in her photography. She wants them to feel the emotions coming from the picture (anna@kuperberg.com). Knowing that she captures the emotions, I can feel that the little girl was shunned by the other boys. The day is nice and sunny but yet the girl is sitting there by herself, while the boys are having fun together. The picture is in black and white suggesting that the girl is sad and depressed because the boys won't play with her. There are many things to do, like ride a bike or go play with the other boys that's climbing the fence. Instead of doing those things the girl sits there, lonely. Since she does not do other things it can be implied that she really wants to be part of the guys.
There are many archetypes in this photo. The main one is the abandoned child. You see that in the picture the girl is all by herself. Almost like she was abandoned by the other children. You may notice that there isn't any adults watching the kdis play. This can suggest that they all have been abandoned by their parents but the girl is the only one to notice and feel the pain of being abandoned. The third boy who is climbing over the fence reminds me of the trickster/clown archetype. This archetype likes to disobey rules and plays tricks (Wikipedia). The boy is disobeying the rules by climbing over the fence and leaving the yard. He could be playing a trick on the other children by disappearing on them.
Anna Kuperberg is good at capturing emotions and actions in her photography. She made me see more than kids playing outside. I felt what the little girl and boys were feeling. To me, Anna accomplished waht she wanted in this photograph.
I agree with the archetype, "the abandoned child." I think that, in this case, that is absolutely true. However, when I look at the picture I kind of get the feeling that the little girl is choosing to be alone, rather than the boys shunning her. It very well may be the case that the boys do not want to play with her, but I think that the little girl just does not want to have anything to do with them. She comes across as having the attitude that she's above behavior like that. I think the black and white photography does express a depressed mood, which could be because the girl feels alone, in the sense that she doesn't have anyone that is like her. The girl seems shy also. I thought the boy climbing over the fence in the background was very interesting but I'm not sure what it could possibly symbolize.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Marissa. The girl appears to prefer being by herself rather than with the boys, but she is bothered that she has no other choices. I can definitely tell that Kuperberg likes to portray emotion. Looking at this photograph, I immediately get a sense of how each subject is feeling. I also agree with the archetypes you chose. The children are barefoot and seemed ungroomed, as if they have been abandoned by their parents.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the girl looks satisfied being alone. She doesn't look happy, but she doesn't look sad either. She seems to be content with where she is at. I feel like she may like to play with the boys but also understands that she doesn't always like doing what they do. This might just be a break from playing with them. I don't know what to take away from the boy climbing over the fence. I don't know if he is escaping or if there is something greater on the other side.
ReplyDeleteI think that this photo shows that the girl can be independent and she doesn't need a man to support her. And that women don't need men to be there for them. Women can do things on their own.
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