Fangmeng Gu Histart/Asian 392 Professor Kevin Carr
Formal Visual Analysis Assignment
Visual Analysis about Photograph 1(Fuji Super Gloss Print)
This photograph is about the shape of a square, and there are two white vertical lines, splitting this picture into three rectangles of equal size. It is a photo of a crowded street at night, with lots of shiny colorful billboards fading into far distance. Some of the characters written on billboards can be easily identified – implying “Adult video actresses are
performing inside” or “sexy” etc. These billboards illuminate with various colors – red, blue, white, yellow… and the ones that are in the back of the photograph are somewhat blurry and cannot be identified but for some vague lighting. Nonetheless, this is clearly one of the bustling zones of the city center, judging from the large groups of passengers
wandering on the street.
Out of the three rectangles separated by the two white lines, a young woman is standing in the middle of the rectangle, thus the very middle of the photograph. On first glimpse of this photograph, it is without doubt, that viewers’ attention would be immediately drawn by this modern-looking girl. She is wearing a sleek silver one-piece covering all over her body, including her neck, her hair, her hand and fingers as well as her feet. On top of that silver jumpsuit she also wears a bright red dress which just reaches till her laps, featuring her long, toned legs, with two strings dangling from her neck boosting her chest. Also on her feet she wears a pair of silver heels, which almost blends in with her silver jumpsuit. Her heavy makeup has the same matching color as her clothing: she wears dark red nail polish, crimson lip gloss, maroon blusher and exaggerated silver eye shadow.
She stands in a very relaxed position, with her weight shifted towards the right foot. In her left hand there is a thing that looks like a black wireless telephone but with pointed
antenna. She holds the phone to her left ear and her mouth is slightly open. It seems like she is talking to someone on the phone. Plus her big, round eyes are looking to her left side, and she has a bewildered, hesitant look on her face, making viewers wondering what she’s presently thinking about. The sharp color contrast reminds me of geisha because they also value extremely pale skin in traditional Japanese culture.
Compared to other passers-by in the street, this young woman takes up a huge proportion of this photograph, up to almost half of this picture. And the huge billboard right next to her says something concerning “female porn stars” which leads people to make connections between them. Few other pedestrians are shown in this picture with an easy-to-identify face; they all take the form of blurry silhouettes and are much smaller figures in the background in contrast with the showgirl centered in the foreground. Besides, there is a large empty space to the right side of the picture near the young girl. The space is
completely dark in the picture, not even shedding some lighting as in the background, creating a distinct contrast between her dazzling silver clothing and the darkness.
As a photograph taken from one end of the street, the street itself is seemingly convergent to a point near two thirds of the picture from the left, parallel to the main character’s eyes.
Almost all the lines of the street in this photo are straight, sharp and are either horizontal or vertical, as the billboards, light boxes and store signs mostly take the form of rectangles. Yet the young lady stands in the front, looking loose and at ease. Her body and her flowy
dress add more roundness to this photograph, balancing off the sharpness in the background.
The colors and tones of this photograph also seem to harmonize as in one. The lighting in the street is luminous white and dark red with a tint of yellow mixed up in the distance. The girl at front (accidentally or not) wears corresponding color (silver and dark red), working in concert with the overall tones. This makes the photograph of the street at night less bustling and crowded, but more consistent and united.
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