Suzanne Stein – Ginette
Suzanne Stein photograph of Ginette gives off a good depiction of a hoarder as she shows the many useless treasures one only can cherish, it’s almost like each piece of junk shows a hint on the many adventures the woman has encountered. It also leaves u questioning on how the woman made it to such a cramped space wondering if she finds comfort being isolated. A interesting detail about the photo are her signs and pantings/posters can represent on the places she’s been or the places she fantasize on going like the panting of the Eiffel Tower.
Suzanne uses the rule of third to show the feeling on being stuck with walls full with precious junk giving the thought on how she struggles to let things go holding on junk she no longer needs. She also uses figure to ground between the woman and her belongings giving a messy look wondering why the woman can easily live in a pile of junk.
What a bleak photo. As you say, it is an image of a hoarder, which is form of mental illness. It makes me sad to look at it.
The woman herself is right in the middle. Since she is the main subject, Stein is not using the rule of thirds here. And its not really an example of what we mean when we use the expression figure to ground. The whole image is so chaotic which is what brings home the point. The main formal principal Stein uses in this photo is not something that we have talked about yet which is the contrast of light and dark.