This is a found image of three generations of a German family posing in a park against the backdrop of a moonless night. It is obvious from the elder father's distance from his son that they have never resolved their differences, stemming from the son's decision not to pursue the family business. His father squints disapprovingly at his only grandson, who reaches out for his own father. Concealed in the darkness, and made apparent by the photographic moment, the body positions of the three males reveal a family dynamic that is bound by performances of approval and disavowal. The wide expanse of the park compounds their paradoxical isolation, in way that suggests space is precious but destructive. The layer of pitch blackness that covers the event is also significant - without it we would be confined to subjects and objects, instead of having the freedom to discover what it truly means.
Nice. I particularly like the suits they are wearing.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I waited and waited for it to load while I read your post. I think you're correct in the "obviousness" of the elder father's tension between the father and son, but what of the daughter? You can see clearly that she has fifteen dollars closed tightly in her fist which, from the Mothers curious and upset look, could very well have come from illegitimate means.
ReplyDeleteThis is a dig at the McAllister article isn't it?