Mood Board

The reason I chose Larry Sultan is because I like the structure and form of his photos. He isn’t afraid to use color yet still display a brokenness or sadness. When looking at these photos I get a sense of a dis-functional couple, this is due to every time we see this couple together there is a barrier or a distance between them. Otherwise they have been photographed on their own looking distressed as we can see in the bottom left photo or we see them obsessed with a hobby as we see in the top left photo.  The people in the photos are the photographers parents. Sultan is clearly showing his family in these photos. Showing how family isn’t always easy and can be difficult sometimes. Sultan’s work is very centered the main thing that he wants you to focus on is in the middle clearly showing wants he wants the viewer to look. It also gives the photos a sense of formality as most formal photos the main subject is placed in the middle of the frame which is something we can see here. Some of these photos look very staged however there are others look as if they have been captured in the moment such as the one with the Vacuum cleaner and one with the father practicing his golf swing.

Analysis

In this photo we see the photographers father on one side of the window and his mother on the other. The father is on the outside and mother in the inside. This looks like a photo captured in the moment as the lighting in this photo isn’t perfect, it’s very much improvised using natural lighting. However, I do not think this photo is celebrating how to create the perfect photo I think it is celebrating to capture the perfect at the right time. When looking at this photo I see multiple meanings behind it.

I find the when first looking at this photo I got a sense of a dis-functional relationship like I did from the other photos Sultan has taken. I see as there is a distance between them both, the window acts as a barrier almost like the american prisons where you go visit an inmate and there is security glass separating the visitor and the inmate. This could represent that maybe someone or both people feel imprisoned in their relationship as they are not happy. Also we see the father at the window coming back from gardening (or playing golf like we discovered he liked doing in other photos). However, the mother is in the kitchen. This in itself it reinforcing dominant ideologies that women should be inside preparing food and the man should be outside working or doing “Man things”. This ideology is very popular among the older generation which again shows off their subjects old age.  It could also be a reason why the mother of the photography looks so sad and distressed as she does not have a life of her own to live. I like this photo as it talks for itself.

This photo may not be perfectly framed or lighting may not be perfect but it has captured something that tells its own story to each person. This is very important for a photo as it allows the viewer to connect to the photo and have their own meaning. I like the fact the fact that the photographer has captured the subjects in such a way that they look awkward to be around each other. I like how informal the photo is as it is almost like a window into what the photographers eyes.

This photo looks as if it could have been staged and to a certain extent I think it was. I think the photographer asked the subject to practice his golf stance and he photographed this. The carpet is green just like the grass he would be on if he was actually playing golf. The main subject is almost in the center of the photo. This can be seen almost all of Larry Sultans photos as the main thing he want you to focus on is in the middle of the frame. The photo is taken in very low key lighting giving it a isolated feeling. There isn’t much actually in the photo however the fact that the photo isn’t cluttered gives the photo a isolated feeling.

When I look at the photograph I feel like the photographer is trying to show his father isolating himself using his hobby (golf). I see this a lot in the older generation as my grandfather also plays golf as is often not in the house leaving my grandmother at home. This again links to other photos as it showing a dis-functional family however this time only showing one side to that family. Its showing a man so obsessed with this hobby that he is forgetting to spend time with his wife leading to a broken marriage. Most of the time the hobbies exist as a distraction for something that needs to be talked about. This is the meaning I get out of this photo.

I like this photo as it is strange as he is practicing his stance indoors in front of the TV rather than outside in the sun. I also like the way it has been framed as like his other photos it has a sense of formality to it yet it is still informal. I also like that the carpet is green as it is almost like grass and goes perfectly with the photo, its what makes the photo special. I like the fact that throughout his shoot he has a obvious theme that can be taken in different ways and viewed in a different way by each person that views this photo.