I will go to the waterfront and take symmetrical pictures of different corners of buildings.

This will show both simplicity and complexity, because the simple architecture of most modern tower buildings will contrast with the complex area around them and the complexness of what goes on inside the buildings, e.g. a busy office block. I will also take centred images of the buildings to use for other ideas in this exam

I intend to base my project primarily around image-enhancing elements such as lighting and setting rather than subject, contrasting from my previous project. I am aiming to focus my project on portraying simplicity and complexity from the insider vs. outsider viewpoint and intend to do so by creating images heavily influenced by rich, vibrant lighting to convey emotion, relying on the colour theory; for example blue to reflect sadness or isolation, red to represent intimacy, chaos or energy. In my work i still want to photograph youth culture but instead of my last project, i aim to take away the focus on teenage lifestyle and instead project it onto elements that make up a photograph. To guarantee my images will be eye-catching, I am deciding between either framing my images up on a board in a grid or producing a small zine.

Ideas for photoshoot setting is limited, as due to living on an Island with not much nightlife my choice of places to photograph are few – however i am now 18 so plan on bringing my camera to bars and clubs as i am heavily inspired by the photographic style of club and party culture in the 90s-00s. Since places are limited i am relying on objects and texture to help enhance my images – for example, my artist reference Nan Goldin often used textures such as tiles or fabrics to create a more interesting image. Therefore i will be photographing in rooms like bathrooms as they usually have tiled wall patterns which i feel could appeal to the aesthetic i am aiming to deliver in my work. Other objects i will use to enhance my photos are LED lights which can change the lighting colour and make the image more vibrant – for example my artist reference Tobias Zielony uses artificial coloured lighting (car headlights, streetlamps) whilst photographing in a plain setting to make his image more interesting. Inspired by this, i plan to use the LED light whilst capturing images in ‘plainer’ settings to enhance the image and provide an atmosphere that relates to my insider vs. outsider narrative.

• What you want to explore?
• Why it matters to you?
• How you wish to develop your project?
• When and where you intend to begin your study?

My plan with this project is to focus on the simplicity and complexity of the landscapes and architecture of the place I live, Jersey. I have studied 2 artists/photographers, Hiroshi Sugomito and Andreas Gursky, who I believe fit into my ideas perfectly as they both demonstrate the simplicity and complexity of architecture and landscapes within their work. I would like to document the architecture and landscape of Jersey because, I believe it is important to appreciate the land around yourself, especially when it is the place you have grown up. My plan is to shoot 5-7 photo-shoots of different landscapes and architecture in and around Jersey in order to ensure I am fully prepared for my exam. I also want to experiment with taking shots at different times of the day and during different weather conditions. I also want to explore the use of photo manipulation to create various different outcomes of work. I want to use techniques such as, photo montaging, juxtapositioning, multiple exposure shoots as well as using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to create some interesting and effective outcomes. I plan to start my study straight away in order to give myself enough time to capture a lot of the island.

Andreas Gursky is a German photographer known for his large-scale, highly-detailed photographs of architecture, landscapes, and everyday objects. Born in Leipzig, Germany in 1955, Gursky studied photography at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany and later at the Düsseldorf Art Academy under the tutelage of the influential photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher.

Gursky has exhibited his work internationally and has been the subject of major retrospectives at museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the Hasselblad Award in 1998 and the Infinity Award for Art from the International Center of Photography in 2007.

His Work

Gursky’s photographs often feature vast, complex spaces such as supermarkets, factories, and stock exchanges, which he photographs from a distance and with a bird’s eye view perspective. His photographs are meticulously composed, often taking weeks or even months to prepare and shoot. He uses digital manipulation techniques to create highly-detailed and often surreal images, pushing the boundaries of what is traditionally considered photography. His photographs challenge the viewer’s perception of space, time, and reality, often featuring a bird’s eye view perspective that emphasizes the scale and magnitude of the spaces he photographs.

Andreas Gursky’s work has a profound impact on viewers due to its ability to challenge and transform the way we see and experience the world around us. His large-scale, highly-detailed photographs of vast and complex spaces have a disorienting effect, often leaving viewers feeling overwhelmed by the scale and magnitude of the environments depicted. By depicting spaces and objects in such a hyper-realistic manner, Gursky’s work encourages viewers to question their assumptions about the world and our place within it. His photographs challenge us to consider the relationship between humans and the built environment, as well as the impact of technology on our perceptions of space and time.

Image Analysis

At first glance, this image appears to be a simple and serene image of a river flowing through a flat, rocky landscape. However, on closer inspection, it becomes clear that the image has been heavily manipulated and stripped of all human elements, creating a surreal and otherworldly scene. Gursky’s use of digital manipulation techniques is particularly evident in the image’s strikingly uniform color and tone, which give the river and surrounding landscape a flat, almost monochromatic quality. The image is also highly detailed, with individual rocks and ripples on the river’s surface rendered with exquisite precision. The absence of any human presence in the image creates a sense of timelessness and emptiness, as if the landscape has been frozen in time. The river and surrounding rocks seem to stretch on forever, creating a sense of vastness and infinity that is both awe-inspiring and unsettling.

Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer and architect known for his black-and-white photographs of seascapes, movie theaters, and museum dioramas. He was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1948 and studied at Saint Paul’s University, Tokyo, before moving to Los Angeles to attend the Art Center College of Design.

Sugimoto’s photographs often explore themes of time, perception, and memory. His seascapes, which he has been photographing since the 1980s, are often taken at dawn or dusk and appear as minimalist, abstract compositions that capture the vastness of the ocean and sky. His photographs of movie theaters capture the experience of cinema by capturing the empty seats and screen. In his museum diorama series, he photographs taxidermy animals and other staged scenes in natural history museums, highlighting the artifice of representation and our human impulse to document and preserve.

His Work

Sugimoto’s work is known for its technical precision and formal beauty. He often uses large-format cameras and long exposures to create images that are sharp and detailed, with a wide tonal range. His work has been exhibited in major museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. He is considered one of the most important photographers of our time and has won numerous awards, including the Hasselblad Award in 2001 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2009.

His photographs are often described as meditative and serene, inviting the viewer to slow down and contemplate the beauty and mystery of the world around us. Sugimoto’s seascapes, for example, have a hypnotic quality that can induce a sense of calm and introspection in the viewer. At the same time, Sugimoto’s work often challenges our assumptions about the nature of reality and representation. His museum diorama series, for example, calls attention to the ways in which we construct and interpret knowledge about the natural world, and raises questions about the relationship between truth, illusion, and imagination.

In his “Architecture” series, Sugimoto has photographed some of the most famous buildings in the world, including the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and the Pantheon. These photographs often feature the structures in silhouette against a dramatic sky or with the surrounding environment erased through the use of long exposures. By abstracting the buildings in this way, Sugimoto emphasizes their geometry and form, allowing the viewer to appreciate their aesthetic beauty on a purely visual level. Sugimoto’s work in architecture often explores the themes of time and memory, highlighting the ways in which these concepts are embedded in the built environment. Through his photographs and installations, he invites the viewer to consider the history and significance of the structures that surround us, and to appreciate the ways in which architecture shapes our understanding of the world around us.

Image Analysis

The photograph is black and white and features a stark, minimalistic composition that is characteristic of Sugimoto’s work. The central element of the photograph is a simple cross-shaped opening in the wall of the church, which frames a bright beam of light that enters the space. The beam of light is positioned in the center of the cross, and creates a stark contrast with the dark, shadowy interior of the church. The walls and ceiling of the space are plain, with no ornamental or decorative features, emphasizing the starkness of the space. The photograph is notable for its precise use of geometry and proportion, as well as its play on light and shadow. The cross-shaped opening creates a sense of symmetry and balance, and the beam of light acts as a metaphorical representation of divine light or spiritual illumination. The contrast between the bright light and dark shadows creates a sense of drama and tension, and emphasizes the sense of mystery and awe that is often associated with religious spaces.

NAN GOLDIN

Nan Goldin (born September 12, 1953) is a New York-based photographer known for her works exploring subcultures within her community. Goldin was first introduced to photography at the age of fifteen by a teacher who passed out Polaroid cameras to students at the progressive Satya Community School in Boston. Her projects showcase images depicting topics such as sexuality, intimacy, drug abuse and the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s, heavily influenced by her childhood and upbringing where at age 11 Goldin’s sister died by suicide, one of the first events in her life that would later lead her to photography. After being introduced to photography by a teacher, Goldin held her first solo show in 1973, composed of a collection of images she had taken of Boston’s gay and drag community whilst embarking on a photographic journey throughout the city. The immediate connection she felt to capturing a community led her to begin her first and arguably most recognized work, The Ballad Of Sexual Dependency in 1974.

When Goldin was 18 in 1974, she began to study art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. There she would begin taking photographs and documenting her life for what would turn out to be The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, which is arguably her most recognized work. It is a documentary-style photobook composed of over 700 images that serves as a personal narrative to Goldin, formed out of the artists’ experience around New York, Boston, Berlin and elsewhere. The book is dedicated to Goldin’s friends, many of which passed away after suffering from complications as a result of AIDS. The book liberates the self-expression of Goldin and her friends, captured in intimate moments of highs and lows. “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency is the diary I let people read,” Goldin wrote. “The diary is my form of control over my life. It allows me to obsessively record every detail. It enables me to remember.” Her project was revealed in a diaristic narrative sequence of often unfocused but strongly coloured transparencies arranged as a slide show. Accompanied by a musical score featuring rock, blues, reggae and so on. The presentation was initially shown in nightclubs and eventually in galleries. Goldin continued to work on this project throughout the 1980s, and it was reproduced in 1986 in photobook form.

Continuing to photograph drag queens in the 1990s, she produced and later published two books composed of images she’d taken of her drag queen friends over the years – The Other Side, 1972-1993, titled after a club she used to frequent, and The Family of Nan, 1990–92, in which she documented her friends’ AIDS-related deaths. Goldin started taking photographs of drag queens in 1972 and soon developed an obsession with them, as she has described: “I never saw them as men dressing up as women, but as something entirely different – a third gender that made more sense than either of the other two.” Her photographs became a form of homage. An example is the image above depicting Goldin and her friends laughing and enjoying a picnic. This candid shows the perspective Goldin aimed to embody in her work as she tried to defy negative stereotypes surrounding sexuality and drag. The image is one of many of her very personal declaration of love and gratitude to these drag queens, who showed her a way out of the captivity of gender standards and stereotypes in identity. As she put it: “The pictures in this book are not of people suffering gender dysphoria but rather expressing gender euphoria…. The people in these pictures are truly revolutionary; they are the real winners in the battle of the sexes because they have stepped out of the ring”.

Although Goldin’s most famous works are those of her friends, she often turned the camera on herself, producing a collection of intimate images depicting herself at different stages throughout her life, from her chaotic 70’s lifestyle to her eventual rehabilitation and recovery in the late 80’s and beyond. These self-portraits show the impact of her hedonistic lifestyle, whether through portraits capturing moments of peace and intimacy, or through images showing the darker side of hedonism, showcasing addiction, self-destruction and violence. These photographs have a very personal feel to them and embody the insider diaristic narrative that Goldin pushed to convey in her work to produce hazy, gritty images enhanced by deep shadows, a blurred lens and vibrant lighting.

After the publication of The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, Goldin found herself struggling with addiction, and checked herself into a rehabilitation centre in the late 80’s. After a few years of hiatus from photography, Goldin returned in 1994 with the release of Tokyo Love, a photobook she worked on in collaboration with Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. In 1992, the editors of the Japanese Magazine Deja-Vu invited Goldin to Tokyo to meet Nobuyoshi Araki, a photographer hailed for his intimate, diaristic photographic style that was often compared to Goldins. During the creation of the book, Goldin found herself immersed in the new, unfamiliar subculture of Tokyo, and went on to document the lifestyle of adolescents in Japan, producing powerful images showing the expression of a subculture through documented the lifestyle of adolescents in Japan through colourful, culture-filled urban photographs depicting, in Araki’s words, the ‘joys of life’.

IMAGE ANALYSIS

This image is one of many taken from The Ballad of Sexual Dependency that portrays the subject through the insider narrative. The subject in this photo in Goldin herself, looking at her reflection in a bathroom mirror. The image is staged, positioning Goldin in the centre of the photograph to highlight her as the solo viewpoint and draw the viewers eye – this is done so through colour contrast between the deep blue of the bathroom tiles and illumination of Goldins face by the artificial lighting from the flash of the camera, which is reflected onto the walls tiles. Elements of natural lighting seep into the photograph and highlight blur within the image caused by low shutter speed. The photograph at first doesn’t let onto Goldins background and character, but upon further inspection could reflect her emotional state, a reoccurring theme within her self-portraits – this is enhanced by colour theory, with the bold blue colours possibly hinting at feelings of sadness and isolation, emotion Goldin has battled throughout stages of her life. The lack of eye contact towards the camera and instead to herself could represent her inner conflict with her self-destructive lifestyle she dealt with whilst living in Boston.

This image is another example of how colour theory creates contrast and emotion in a photo. The vibrant red and orange tones of the image, taken in a collection of 3, enhance the photo by creating feelings of chaos, excitement and energy. The photo itself is of Goldin’s friend Sandy, getting ready to go out – a reoccurring scene in Goldins work. The image is candid but appears staged through enhancement of lighting and shutter speed – the slightly jittery, shaky effect that is left in the photograph captures the adrenaline of party culture Goldin experienced throughout her photographic journey. In contrast from the previous mirror photo, the image provides a unique viewpoint and a combination of both insider and outsider narrative that brings the viewer in the room with Goldin through the intimate embracing colours of the lighting.

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Mood Board

Joshua Sariñana’s “Image of Structure” is a captivating photographic project that explores the themes of order, geometry, and symmetry in architecture. Sariñana’s project consists of a series of black and white photographs that capture the stark beauty of man-made structures through precise angles, clean lines, and intricate patterns. The image also seems to have a sort of filter over them consisting of a dark grainy texture which blacks out the background and highlights glare from lights.

In this project, Sariñana showcases a variety of buildings, from complex skyscrapers to simple apartment complexes. What links these structures is their uniformity and repetition of patterns. This repetition is highlighted through Sariñana’s use of composition, often positioning his camera to emphasize the symmetry, complexity and repetition of the structures.

Sariñana’s photographs also elicit a sense of order and control. By showcasing the precise angles and clean lines of each building, Sariñana emphasizes the meticulous planning and engineering that goes into the construction of these buildings. This emphasis on order is especially effective when contrasted by the organic shapes and chaos of the natural world.

Furthermore, Sariñana’s project references to the human “desire “for order and structure. We are drawn to the symmetry and patterns of architecture because it provides us with a sense of stability and predictability which is something that people find comforting. Sariñana’s photographs capture this desire for order and structure in a visually stunning way and so make somewhat simple images complex with connotations and meaning.

“In my photographic work I seek to create a distinct – often dire – reality, which points to my long and exhausting history with depression, paranoia, and hypomania. This ominous quality of this series also speaks to the power of the buildings looming strength. I am not looking to have the viewer feel how I feel or see how I see, but to use it as a projective test to identify internal conflict that they may not have been aware of prior to viewing this work. The tension of being elevated and grounded by Gehry’s work, has for me, created a tense and silent drama that unfolds into surreal observation and removes it from the architectural context into the photographic space as a separate art object.”

Joshua Sarinana

https://www.lensculture.com/search/projects?q=architecture&modal=project-304845-image-of-structure

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Image Analysis

I chose this image because I feel like it is most similar to the majority of buildings that I will be photographing in town in Jersey, with the majority of the building being concrete. I really like this collection of images mainly because of the angles used to make the structures look so big and daunting which is something I intend to imitate in my pieces. It is a great use of monochrome photography as by getting rid of the sky and the colour it really focuses attention on the scale and shape of the building, creating a particular focus on the shape and texture of the bricks. I also appreciate how he has created a “flair” where the light is coming from, most likely a street light as it creates an abstract take in normal lighting.

I also appreciate the meaning behind this project/photo, as in the artist’s project description he talks about his battles with anxiety and depression and how it has influenced the images he took. He has intentionally made the buildings look big and daunting through the use of the angles and eerily depressing by using only shades of black.

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First Response

One way I will be referencing Sarinana’s work is by using low up-looking angles of big buildings, as well as editing the images in lightroom and photoshop to filter out the colour and create some darker images. While I will be using normal buildings I also want to add some variation by using some local POI such as the castles, as they are themselves giant buildings with unique architecture which can prove quite daunting.

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Second Responce

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Here is a moodboard combining both simple and complex aspects for the overall project. I wanted to take the approach of combining both landscape and portrait photography together, also combining aspects of the topic on war to the project.

Moodboard for the topic of ‘simple’:

Here I have my moodboard for ideas that I thought applied to the theme of ‘simple’. For my area of study, I would like to go down the path of applying aspects of the city of Berlin. Within the topic of ‘simple’, I thought it would be a good approach to highlight the approach of the urban landscape and the society within the city itself. I wanted to take this approach so that I could display the normality of the people that live around the area itself, rather than take a deeper approach.

Moodboard for the topic of ‘complex’:

Here I have my moodboard for ideas that I thought applied to the theme of ‘complex’. For this area of study, I thought it would be an interesting concept to follow the idea of war-related subjects and displaying the deeper picture behind Berlin’s background. The city was known for containing the Berlin wall and many other aspects of war that have built up what the city looks like today. Graffiti in the city also plays as very important role in the city’s story and it’s a massive part of the community and the landscapes visible.

Mindmap:

Above here I have my mindmap which contains a few areas that I was considering to study for my overall topic. I mainly liked the idea of containing historical aspects behind my photography, so I thought about taking photos within Berlin and comparing those that of Jersey. Berlin and Jersey both contain graffiti within the locations and also contain war-related monuments and figures such as bunkers and memorials. I believe that I will be able to make a good comparison between the two areas with linking mainly to history and landscape, both mainly being within the urban area.

Alec Soth (b. 1969) is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has published over twenty-five books including Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004), NIAGARA (2006), Broken Manual (2010), Songbook (2015), I Know How Furiously Your Heart is Beating (2019), and A Pound of Pictures (2022). Soth has had over fifty solo exhibitions including survey shows organized by Jeu de Paume in Paris (2008), the Walker Art Center in Minnesota (2010) and Media Space in London (2015). Soth has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2013). In 2008, Soth created Little Brown Mushroom, a multi-media enterprise focused on visual storytelling. Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Hammons Gallery in Minneapolis, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, and Loock Galerie in Berlin, and is a member of Magnum Photos.

Soth liked the work of Diane Arbus. He travelled around the Mississippi River and made a self-printed book entitled Sleeping by the Mississippi which included both landscapes and portraits. Curators for the 2004 Whitney Biennial put him in their show, and one of his photographs entitled “Charles”, of a man in a flight suit on his roof holding two model aeroplanes, was used in their poster. Soth’s work has since been compared to that of Walker Evans and Stephen Shore. He has photographed for The New York Times Magazine, Fortune and Newsweek.

When he photographs people, Soth feels nervous at times. He said: “My own awkwardness comforts people, I think. It’s part of the exchange.” When he was on the road, he’d have notes describing the types of pictures he wanted taping to the steering wheel of his car. One list was: “beards, birdwatchers, mushroom hunters, men’s retreats, after the rain, figures from behind, suitcases, tall people (especially skinny), targets, tents, treehouses and tree lines. With people, he’ll ask their permission to photograph them, and often wait for them to get comfortable; he sometimes uses an 8×10 camera. He tries to find a “narrative arc and true storytelling” and pictures in which each picture will lead to the next one.

Sleeping by the Mississippi

Soth has been photographing different parts of the US since his first book, Sleeping by the Mississippi, was published in 2004.

Much has been written about Alec Soth’s Sleeping by the Mississippi. First published in 2004, it is a landmark publication in the Magnum photographer’s career, which propelled him to international recognition and notoriety. First editions of the photobook are highly prized items today. At a talk in London in 2017, in conversation with Sean O’Hagan, Soth reflected on the work, almost 15 years on, and how he began to make what would eventually become the tightly-edited tome, Sleeping By the Mississippi. “I was a morose, introverted young man,” says Soth of his early years, identifying with a version of a Midwestern American sensibility that was “dark and lonely”. Working in a photo-processing lab on other people’s pictures throughout his early 20s, he had (almost) given up the ambition to become a famous artist, yet it was this very relaxation of his personal ambition that eventually allowed him the degree of freedom necessary to accept the influence of the American tradition of road trip photography in his own work – to stop pretending he was reinventing the wheel, to carry on the tradition and make it his own.

He began to follow the Mississippi River in his car, driving from place to place, letting himself progress towards locations he had vaguely researched and “using the river as a route to connect with people along the way.” These were the early days of the web and the development of his process ran parallel to the growth of the internet. “It was like web surfing in the real world,” he says, “it was like trying to ride a wave.”

He drove from location to location, going from one thing to another, with a list of keywords for things he was interested in taped to his steering wheel; Soth’s aim was to stop his car as soon as something caught his eye, but he found that what had captured his attention was not necessarily the stuff of pictures he wanted to make. “Often these are photo clichés, things that look like work by another photographer,” he says. He first needed to weed out these well-trodden tropes in order to find the personal, the things that would allow him to honestly carve out his own meaning and make pictures. “A miraculous time in my life,” is how Soth describes this process. He felt warmly welcomed in the region; he was allowed into the intimacy of people’s homes. Hyper-alive to the world, Soth had in fact just spent an intense month-long period with his mother-in-law, who had become very ill. He lived with her in her house as she died.

Soth made several more photographic books including Last Days of W, a book about a country “exhausted by George W. Bush’s presidency”. Soth spent the years between 2006 and 2010 exploring the idea of retreat. Using the pseudonym Lester B. Morrison, he created Broken Manual over four years (2006–2010) an underground instruction manual for those looking to escape their lives. Soth investigates the places in which people retreat to escape civilization, he photographs monks, survivalists, hermits and runaways. He concurrently produced the photo book From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America, an overview of Soth’s photography from the early 1990s to the present.

In 2010, Soth flew to the United Kingdom but despite not having applied for a work visa was allowed into the country on the understanding that if he was “caught taking photographs” he could be put in prison for two years. So he handed the camera to his young daughter who took pictures in Brighton. A 2016 photo exhibition, titled Hypnagogia, featured 30 images from Soth’s 20-year exploration of the state between wakefulness and sleep. “Described as a neurological phenomenon, one recurrently associated with creativity, a hypnagogic state is the dreamlike experience while awake that conjures vivid, sometimes realistic imagery,” Soth explained in the artist statement for the project.

A Pound of Pictures

A Pound of Pictures is a stream-of-consciousness celebration of the photographic medium, bringing together an entirely new collection of work by Alec Soth made between 2018 and 2021. Depicting a sprawling array of subjects — from Buddhist statues and birdwatchers to sun-seekers and busts of Abe Lincoln — this book reflects on the photographic desire to pin down and crystallise experience, especially as it is represented and recollected by printed images.

Throughout this eclectic sequence are the recurring presences of iconography, souvenirs and mementoes, and of the image-makers that surround us day to day. Forming a winding, ruminative road trip, Soth’s photographs are followed by his own notes and reflections in an extended afterword. ‘If the pictures in this book are about anything other than their shimmering surfaces,’ he writes, ‘they are about the process of their own making. They are about going into the ecstatically specific world and creating a connection between the ephemeral (light, time) and the physical (eyeballs, film).’

This image is from Soth’s “Sleeping by the Missisippi” project. The image was taken on film, and as a result of this has faded tones, with high amounts of blues and blacks. There are strong leading lines that lead from the outer sides of either end of the image, almost directly into the centre of the image. This image clearly uses the rule of thirds – both edges of the wooden exterior fall within or on the lines of the bottom thirds of the image, and the focal point, the bed, intersects with the right corner of the black window at the almost exact middle of the image. There is stark contrast in this image, between the bright white of the doorframe to the left, the faded white bedsheets and the outside of the windows, with the bold, harsh black of the window paine, and the legs of the bed. This area is therefore a focal point, contrasting from the faded blues and whites in the other parts of the image. There are also different shapes in this image, intersecting. For example, there is a triangle shape formed by the leading lines, but also many rectangle shapes: the windows, the pillows, and the doorframe to the left. Also this image doesn’t really provide any social context to life in the area of rural America that Alec Soth was documenting in this project, it can be seen through the someone stark and stripped down presentation of this image. This could represent issues of poverty, or a lack of opportunities in the area photographed, or just show a reality of living in rural or small communities.