View the image by Walker Evans on this page and describe what you can actually see (objective analysis) and what you think the image is about (subjective analysis).
Discuss how effective Walker Evans has been in using a landscape image to communicate a point of view. Can this photograph be considered as Art? Give two reasons to support your answer.
Make sure you include the image in your blog post with credit in the citation. When you analyze the photo, look for deeper meaning beyond the literal description of the Photo.
Bethlehem, Graveyard and Steel Mill - Walker Evans 1935 © Walker Evans Archive, 1994,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The big Cross on the left side of the image is the main subject. The background clearly shows factories and an urban area with a cemetery in the foreground. The image could be showing the cycle of an urban life, where you work and ultimately end up dying and ending up in a cemetery near your where you lived. Basically, the image shows that you never leave.
A question could arise as to "is this art?". The answer to that is a simple yes. It communicates a message across to the viewer about life and death. To me, it makes me want to do something with my life instead of just work and die, ultimately never leaving.
Another reason for why this could be art is because of the neatness portrayed in the image. Everything is perfectly vertical, there is rule of thirds, and even a strong foreground and background. This is important when getting the point across because you want the viewer to be more focussed on the overall meaning and less focussed on how the image is not neat enough to fit personal standards.
The overall meaning to me, is that some people work and die in one place and never leave, even after death. It is actually inspiring because it makes me want to do the exact opposite. I want to live an eventful life and not stay in one place forever. We have a big world, and it doesn't make sense to not explore it.
A question could arise as to "is this art?". The answer to that is a simple yes. It communicates a message across to the viewer about life and death. To me, it makes me want to do something with my life instead of just work and die, ultimately never leaving.
Another reason for why this could be art is because of the neatness portrayed in the image. Everything is perfectly vertical, there is rule of thirds, and even a strong foreground and background. This is important when getting the point across because you want the viewer to be more focussed on the overall meaning and less focussed on how the image is not neat enough to fit personal standards.
The overall meaning to me, is that some people work and die in one place and never leave, even after death. It is actually inspiring because it makes me want to do the exact opposite. I want to live an eventful life and not stay in one place forever. We have a big world, and it doesn't make sense to not explore it.
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