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Credo III
Published: 2011-10-23 08:40:33 +0000 UTC; Views: 8531; Favourites: 298; Downloads: 0
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Description
Leo TolstoyConfession
(translation by Louise and Aylmer Maude)
Force is force, matter is matter, will is will, the infinite is the infinite, nothing is nothing.
hasselblad 500cm, planar 80mm f2.8 cf t*, fuji acros 100
www.phantomderlust.com
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Comments: 38
By way of introduction, let me say that I studied conceptual art for four years and worked in an internationally-recognized photography gallery. Not that that gives me any kind of authority or expertise, but I have had some experience in the art field. It's immaterial whether I like or dislike this photograph or whether I think it's good or bad. I'm drawn to it for some reason and I'll provide some critique in the manner that I prefer to receive criticism myself, by telling you what I see and think when I look at it. I hope it's useful. Art is all about making choices.
I like the choice of black and white, which works well with the nun outfit. It makes for a striking image, and I immediately clicked on the thumbnail to see what it was. It took me a while to try to figure out what is going on in this image. It looks like a nun with pig feet for hands. I got that part, but overall the picture didn't squeal "pig" to me. I didn't really get pig snout from the face. It sort of looks like a cat face as well. Not sure it that was intended. It seems too white, or maybe it's made from fabric. The hands have a lot of texture, but the snout is rather neutral. The face is the weakest part of the photograph for me. The snout looks like it's stuck onto black fabric, not a part of the face. I want to see more of the face of this creature. Or for it to be completely absent. It's somewhere in between. I find the face unclear and unresolved, visually. I can see where you might be trying to go, but the photo doesn't go all the way to where I imagine you might like it to.
Symbolically, the image seems is a bit simplistic. I get formal portrait. Nun. Pig hands. The calla lily mixes it up and starts to take it in a surreal direction, but it still kind of hits me on the head with some kind of "nuns are pigs" metaphor or generalized anti-religious sentiment, which I don't really get or agree with. I see a mysterious faceless figure with a badly formed pig snout demurely holding a flower. It's like a formal portrait but the face is missing. I feel something is missing. It's surprisingly difficult to give a lifelike quality to a bunch of props, but that can work in your favor too. Either more artificial or more realistic would be directions I could see you taking with this body of work. Perhaps if there were more elements in the photo, if the symbolism was denser and more poetic and not quite as literal it would be more interesting. The background seems like a default studio backdrop, not a considered choice. The pose of the figure could be either more theatrical or more formal. More or less lifelike. Perhaps some jewelry? I really like the pig feet, the way they creepily resemble chubby human fingers is quite grotesque. It's the strongest part of the image, and why I would like to see the face have as much information. A real dead pig head or just the pig snout cut from the face would hit home the dead/alive real/artificial human/animal dichotomies you are beginning to evoke in this photograph. All in a all a very interesting start to what I hope will be a continuing exploration of these themes. You might want to check out Cindy Sherman's images of mannequins and theatrical props. Or William Wegman's dog portraits for more inspiration. Keep up the good work!
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Thank you very much for your feedback!)
I really appreciate your attention to details and constructive criticism
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I always tried to do these boats hats with the restaurant thing to clean mouth. It never worked. Teach me?
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At first I was "wha...t?" And then I was like "Eww"
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amasing , really showing real face of church for me, congr
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at first, i thought there was some flower-type thing leading to the mouth, and that the hands were deformed..
then i realized.... lol
really cool photo and congrats on the DD
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Where does the lilly-wimple come from? I presume she is a nun, white lilies as symbol of the Virgin Mary, but the rest is mystery.
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It just depends on what order the nun/sister belongs to. Some of them actually do where wimple-veils like this one. It's just like how some orders where blue and gray while others where pink, brown, black, white or some other color. They also have different shapes and lengths of veils.
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I really didn't know that. Thanks
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Wow the concept is really bizarre. I like how miysterious it is
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