Professor Michals

HW #1

The image I decide to talk about is the “Emerging Man” 1952 photograph by Gordan Parks. In this photo we see an African-American man hiding in a manhole. Where this photo was taken was in Harlem according to Gordon Park. This photo with the details of the street and pavement with the blur building in the background gives the idea of the Harlem neighborhood. I really like this photo because it shows the life of African Americans in 1952. It gives off the emotion of sadness and fear. 

In this Photo the terms that best describe it is the Contrast of Light and Dark and Figure to Ground.

In term of composition, it shows a great example of the contrast of light and dark because it the pavement is dark when looking upward the man looks dark and blends with the light of the background. As for the term Figure to Ground which is when the relationship between subject and background can be seen as negative and positive space. The subject of the photo is a man in a manhole and the pavement creates a connection with the subject because of the dark tone and then with negative space of the background bring the focus back to the subject. The reason that the photo is black and white gives off the emotion of fear also the man looks away from the camera demonstrate that around him something frightening is happening.

-Daniel Rodriguez 

1 Comment

  1. rmichals

    You describe the photo well but leave out a lot about the circumstances of the making of the photo. It was made to illustrate an important novel by Ralph Ellison titled Invisible Man.

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