Social Commentary

[futuredevelopment]

Hey guys, this is my first post here. Let me know what you think of my photos!

"A Soldier Awakens"
http://images.fotopic.net/?id=39731131&noresize=1

"Children Eating Breakfast"
http://images.fotopic.net/?id=39731132&noresize=1

"Mount Everest Inversion"
http://images.fotopic.net/?id=39731134&noresize=1

"The Unknown Prisoner's Teeth"
http://images.fotopic.net/?id=39731133&noresize=1

"Reduction of Souls"
http://images.fotopic.net/?id=39731135&noresize=1

"Ketchup"
http://images.fotopic.net/?id=39731138&noresize=1

"Three Clocks"
http://images.fotopic.net/?id=39731136&noresize=1

"The Womb Inside the Ice Cream Cone"
http://images.fotopic.net/?id=39731137&noresize=1

[aCiD99]

I enjoy the incorporation of Mount Everest Inversion into The Womb of the Ice Cream Cone. Helps tell the story.

[Sonic Infidel]

This is too postmodern even for me. I don't "get" it. Is it irony and and literal representation for their own respective sakes?

Is there really social commentary that I'm missing, or is that part of the joke?

[BillsBayou]

I'm clueless. Really.

The flourescent light and the nail clippers are the only photos I like here. Maybe I'd like more, but the titles of the pictures has me baffled.

Every time I see titles like these, I go back to the movie "Little Giants" and the nerdy computer geek calling the plays. One such play he called "The Annexation of Puerto Rico." I had no idea why he was naming his plays like this. I have no idea in this series either.

[willy b]

Maybe I'd like more, but the titles of the pictures has me baffled.


agreed :rolleyes:

[SWPhotoImaging]

Do your handlers know you have escaped?



Truly baffling on many levels . . . .

[Skippy29]

I think you spent too much time thinking up "titles" for these pics :lol:

[BillsBayou]

Ok, so here are MY titles:
"Where Are My Keys?"
"The Death of Tesla"
"Tuna Melt In Vitro"
"That's A Nice Blouse Mrs. Cleaver"
"Poli-Dent Polyphonic"
"Mein Onkel ist ein Regenschirm"
"Mmmmm... Mmm! That IS a tasty burger!"
"Who Farted?"

[kuebaldy]

It sure went over my head. I don't get it.

[Sonic Infidel]

Haha! Poor guy...

He's never going to post here again if we keep up like this.

[kevin_c]

Nice titles... :-) I'm just having dificulty matching them up to the pics - maybe they need shuffling around...?

[Vinni]

Pomo - weird for the sake of being weird.

I got the first one, the rest are just mind-boggling.

[3Dart]

nice work creative if you need positive feedback try taking photos of smoke or
your car or maybe a hand gun ..personally i think your on the right track... think out side
the box

[Aquaman]

Pomo - weird for the sake of being weird.

I got the first one, the rest are just mind-boggling.


My thoughts too. Would you share your thoughts behind the pictures and the titles?

[boomer1959]

OK then:rolleyes:

[Titus213]

I enjoy the incorporation of Mount Everest Inversion into The Womb of the Ice Cream Cone. Helps tell the story.

My thoughts exactly! Really amazing stuff here. Thanks.

By the way - welcome to the forums. You may feel right at home here.

[Denovo]

Do your handlers know you have escaped?



Truly baffling on many levels . . . .

I lost it when I read this post... thank you for making my work day tolerable.

It's funny, because if he or she had not titled the images everyone would have been like "I love such and such, yada yada."

Here's my CC since I think that the comments so far are light-hearted but probably not the most welcoming to a new member (especially considering that we are in the Experimental section of the forum) . Anyways...

I don't think these were meant to be one series or tell a single story. I got some of them and others I didn't. Some of the titles were too confusing and I think some people may be right about that because it ends up distracting you to the extent that your mind is searching for meaning while you're eyes could have been searching/examining the photo. When your thoughts and eyes can't make sense of it your viewer moves on with a "Hmmm... don't get it." If each picture were in a series and some context were given for whatever social commentray you hope to make that may be better.

Just remember that a social commentary should be understandable or else it's not making any commentary at all - well besides to yourself and a select group of others. Some of the best commentaries are very straightforward and thus more powerful. Don't be hesitant to beat your viewer over the head with what you are trying to say - as long as it is technically and artistically "good". Even when you're straightforward people will take different meanings from the same image so while you can't control your viewer's thoughts you at least want to have some sort of conversation with them through your images.

[Sonic Infidel]

Well said, Denovo.

[futuredevelopment]

Hi again everyone and sorry I didn't reply earlier! I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that offered me their constructive criticism, and I will take it to heart for my next photo post. I get the impression that I may have confused a couple of people with my photo titles so I'll try to explain my thoughts behind them below.

"A Soldier Awakens"
I was attempting to create an atmosphere of isolation and anxiety. The soldier I refer to in the title is not an actual one, but rather the emotional state of an average person in the modern world. They feel separated and disconnected from their fellow humans due to the stranglehold technology has placed on normal social interactions. I was attempting to evoke a mood of weary resignation or defeat.

"Children Eating Breakfast"
I wanted this photo to be about how parents spend less quality time with their children and instead, focus on trying to create "successful and competitive young adults for the future". The Rubik's Cube and origami crane represent how the modern parent perceives the child. That is, a puzzle to be solved or a will to be bent to their own wishes. However, all they are creating is facsimiles in the spirit of keeping up with the Jones'. A child's mind should be nurtured not suffocated by what is socially expected. The title refers to how, collectively, we have lost the ability to enjoy the smaller pleasures in life.

"Mount Everest Inversion"
This photo was set up to provide a striking juxtaposition of two worlds: the natural world and the world of technology created by man. Whereas the banana is soft, and comes from a warm tropical environment, the radio is cold and unfeeling, created my man's insatiable desire to reduce the size of his world. The title is meant to make the audience think about how technology has pampered us and created a lifestyle where nothing need be attained through hard work. Climbing Mount Everest is an exceptionally difficult task, but the vast majority of the populace would rather never consider trying to accomplish it. Rather, they prefer the inverse -- a world where technology brings anything exciting directly into their home.

"The Unknown Prisoner's Teeth"
The unknown prisoner is the one who uses the telephone and the teeth are the buttons on the phone. The phone has become such an integral part of people's lives that taking away someone's cellphone is akin to taking away someone's teeth. We feel we need both for survival. Phones have created a society of impatience and snap decisions rather than one where time spent on critically evaluating new ideas and thoughts is given value. Our haste will be our undoing.

"Reduction of Souls"
This is an old, old space heater, in case you were wondering. Anyway, I shot this picture to show that each bar of the grate is basically the same as every other bar, and the only differences between them superficial. This is meant as a commentary on how artistic monotony is encouraged. People do not want to be challenged or made to think very hard. We want our television shows and hit songs to all be similar to something we've seen or heard before.

"Ketchup"
I wanted to point out with this photo the ridiculousness of some of the foods we "create". Chop up some random fruit or vegetable, add a ton of salt, and top it off with a nice cocktail of flavor-enhancing chemicals. Society demands that food be ready immediately and come in a convenient package. And if your food doesn't taste unhealthy enough already, just squeeze on your favorite concoction of toxins. And then go ahead and wonder why health problems are so widespread.

"Three Clocks"
With the title, I tried to stress how important time seems to people; they rush through work, speed in cars, and always try to find ways to improve personal efficiency in an attempt to accumulate minuscule fractions of time. However, all of these bits of time adding up to something significant is just an illusion. It just ends up being wasted on some completely banal activity, like clipping your nails. Again, this behavior is a byproduct of the hyper-commercialized and ultra-competitive world we've created for ourselves. All we've really made is an unsustainable society of self-important nobodies.

"The Womb Inside the Ice Cream Cone"
The title is meant to evoke thoughts of safety and comfort, while the picture clearly has heavy religious overtones. This is because organized religion lulls us into a false sense of security and destroys the individuals will. The batteries represent the power religion has over the public, and the plastic Jesus shows how we've commercialized and dumbed down religion for all. Now, the true word is one of blind faith and ignorance rather than individual thought and logical reasoning. Science and religion are incompatible because someone told you so. God can only exist through faith and not reason. These fallacious thoughts lead down dark roads of mistrust and conflict.

[Titus213]

I honestly liked them more before you explained them (and that wasn't much). I was a bit disappointed that my previous post here wasn't challenged at all....

All in all I think you should get out more.

[Sonic Infidel]

Ouch, dude.

[neil_r]

sign me up for some of them drugs....

[kevin_c]

'Whoooshhh...' - something just flew right over my head... :-)

I've always thought that images should speak for themselves... ???

[Sugarman]

I'm guessing you're not from around my part of the world--er, country. Maybe not from my part of the universe. Way too deep for me. Your photos did not come close to eliciting the thoughts as you have explained them.

[aCiD99]

I must disagree with most people`s responses here, I support his artistic individuality, and creativity.

Keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing more images in the future!

[cplchip]

Huh???

[coach51]

Whew! Glad I didn't make it to this thread until the expanations were out. First of all, welcome to the forum, futuredevelopement. I understand your points (better through your words, than through your photos), and I hope that YOU will become someone who could help us out of all of these woes, as your name may imply. Religion is a personal matter, and it's good to question. That search should lead us to realize that the only important consideration is how we treat each other. On the other hand, all of this is probably better on another forum made for that intention. So keep posting those photos, and remember to look for the good things within the bad.

We are creatures created to experience the creation of our Creator, not to judge it good or evil. Enjoy whatever happens,

[nrellas]

Welcome, and I enjoy the pictures and the titles...just a heads up-this place, as much as a i like it, doesnt explore the artistic side of photography very much, more just the technical side. youll get more, good exposure/color/conversion, than inquiries into your motives.
nick

[Titus213]

Welcome, and I enjoy the pictures and the titles...just a heads up-this place, as much as a i like it, doesnt explore the artistic side of photography very much, more just the technical side. youll get more, good exposure/color/conversion, than inquiries into your motives.
nick

I'm afraid I have to disagree. Perhaps if folks saw more of a connection between the photos and the descriptions there would be a different response. The OP is certainly entitled to his ideas about what the photos mean but expecting others to automatically accept this as art is going too far in my opinion.

There hasn't been much of any comment on the technical aspects of the photography which, again in my opinion, is far from exceptional.

futuredevelopment - keep posting, perhaps the light will come on for some of us artistic dolts. And perhaps your photography will improve too.

[tlc]

social commentary should be understandable. having to spend valuable time trying to 'get it' doesnt make for a good comment.

please sir, may i have my time back please.

[Guineh]

please sir, may i have my time back please.

Why? so you can use it for personal grooming? :lol:

Ok, ok.... After reading the explanations, I get what the OP is trying to convey, but I also feel maybe the meaning was lost in the images, I think a bit abstruse for most to figure out without it being spelled out for them.

BTW, was there any intent in having "Mount Everest Inversion" in the frame of "The Womb Inside the Ice Cream Cone"? And if so, what was the reasoining behind that?

[frame]

Hey Futuredevelopment, I have read your explanations and must say that I'm am very interested in seeing these pictures, the reasoning behind them doesn't seem at all "crazy" to me. Do you have a link to them because all I see is a block with a red cross where the picture initially was?

[peatoire]

Welcome futuredevelopment. I think once you had explained the images it gave an interesting insight, beforehand it was just a guessing game and there is no way in a million years I would have come close to seeing your vision. That's no reflection of you personnally, I have this problem with modern arts world too. The artists interpretation can be very ambiguous more often than not. I always struggle with the fact people can all too easily interpret the art completely differently. "Children Eating Breakfast" It would be just as easy to see the toys were a way of distracting the children conveniently in our hustle bustle lives much the same as breakfast now being seen as something to 'get out of the way' rather than a family time. Now that wasn't your intention. I think this is why art sometimes has an air of snobbery or 'emporers new clothes'
I'm really not having a poke at you at all so please don't misunderstand, but all opinions are valid and I think maybe you'd be intersted in mine. I think you have produced thought provoking images and pricked some ears up which is what photography is all about in my book.
Regards
Andy