Moving Forward: Studium and Punctum

Note: In the photo I edited, the man's shirt was made red, but when being uploaded to blogger, it somehow changed to blue...I don't know why. But keep in mind, the shirt was supposed to be red.

Studium: The studium of this racialized photograph I edited says little…. several people are sitting on a city bus or train on their way to somewhere. By the black and white and the clothing style one could deduce that this photo was taken in the mid 20th century in the South.

Punctum: The punctum is found in my manipulation of the original photo. The original photo taken by Franks depicts two black men sitting at the back of the bus with a white woman and her children sitting near the front, both parties with pensive and severe expressions on their faces. This photo was obviously taken during a time of racial intensity in the U.S. and in an era when the unjust laws of Jim Crow prevailed. I manipulated this striking portrait of institutionalized racism to reflect the progress that African-Americans have made since segregation and how their assertion of their rights from the 1960s to now has radically changed the face of American culture. No longer at the back of the bus, the man highlighted in red has surged to the forefront of society and wears the face of silent pride and dignity instead of sorrow. I made his shirt a dull red to make him stand out and also to represent how his transition from the dregs of society to a place of respect was not a trivial revolution, but a battle won with the spilt blood of others. I left one African-American man in the back instead of completely mixing all the riders to connote that though Blacks have come a long way in the struggle for equality, it's not yet over. Like the bus that these passengers of history are frozen in, African-Americans continue to move forward.

EXAMPLES OF TYPOGRAPHY

This quote has been used repeatedly in everything from Billy Joel's 1977 pop rock album to 2PAC Shakur lyrics and always holds a resonating ring of truth. This example of typography uses color and type to connote the underlying message of the quote and to visually as well as verbally convey the the unfairness of a reality that snatches the best creation has to offer away before they can truly live.

The first interesting thing that I noticed about this typography was the how the word "die" was emphasized over "the","good" and "young". Using dashes of orange that make the word seem to glow above the morbid darkness of the other words, the word "die" seems to jump off of the page, similar to how death of a loved one comes unexpectedly and there is no way one can prepare themselves for it. The splatter of what emulates blood emanates from "die" and contaminates the other words, connoting how death overshadows all the other aspects of one's life so that nothing seems normal anymore. Since the other words have been splattered they no longer appear benign but look ominous and foreboding, their innocence taken away. The type is bold and confrontational, in all caps, which grabs the viewers' attention and adds a sense of urgency to the sentiments being expressed. The arrangement of the words in three lines gives it order and symmetry which forms a sharp contrast to the chaos behind the words and behind the colors. The fact that the words are stark black and the word "die" is orange manifests a juxtapositioning of color and this combined with the splatter escaping outside the words, makes it more real and applicable, reflecting how death cannot be contained.

Nature Trumps Humanity

Walk at Night

President Bush and Australia's Governor-General Michael Jeffery stroll the grounds of Admiralty House in Sydney prior to the beginning of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

The first thing that captivated me about this photo was the massive tree in the center where the branches seemed to reach endlessly outside the frame of the photo. The fact that this tree is my focus of attention and not the two world leaders beneath its shadow or the distant echos of civilization in its background epitomizes the triumph of nature over humanity. With an initial glance of this photograph, the studium (denotative meaning) would be two men taking a stroll under a tree with a city behind them. Upon reading the caption, the studium evolves with more detail, President Bush and Australia's governor taking a stroll in Sydney before an economic conference. The new knowledge of their power does not change my perception of the photo...they are still overshadowed by the enormity of the tree. The punctum, connotative meaning,eludes to something deeper, a deeper truth that illustrates no matter what heights civilization attains it will always be subject to and held in awe by the mystery of nature.

The tree is the highest structure in the photograph, dwarfing the two leaders who reign below and the entire city behind it with quiet power and dignity. Its placement at the forefront of the photograph allows it dominance over the picture and even when I looked at the dazzling city of Sydney in the background and at the pensive expressions of the two men walking, my eyes always wandered back to that tree, fixated on the allure it emanated, and how it made all man made objects pale in comparison. The only illumination in the picture is found mostly near or in the branches of the tree, reflecting how enlightenment in that transition to a higher plane of spirituality will always come from nature and never from the adulterated efforts of man.

The myth that this photo propagates is the power of something greater that will always hold dominion over us and in a nation that was founded on Christianity, this higher power could mean God, not just nature. Two of the most powerful men in the world are reduced to items of insignificance as they are humbled by the gentle ferocity of the ethereal. The city is immersed in darkness, the only source of light, of hope is found in the tree, a microcosm of the pull of the otherworldly.