Personal: 2007

In order to compare and contrast two images, it is important to carefully deconstruct and analyse each one, focusing on context, content, form, meaning and value.” The Lonely Metropolitan” by Herbert Mayer (1932), and “Fading Away” by Henry Peach Robinson (1858) are obviously from different time periods and so each image is extremely different in terms of denotations and connotations, however they are both extremely powerful images that allow audiences to interpret them in a variety of ways.
Fading away is a composition of 5 negatives, due to there being no means of enlarging at the time. The images shows a girl dying of tuberculosis (a common disease at that time) and her family members in despair beside her. The form of the images correlates with its time, due to the slight sense of formality and mundane colour, which also reinforces the morbid theme of the image. The amount of textiles visible (curtains, clothing etc) adds texture, and the window view adds a certain depth to the photograph. I personally find the dark figure with his back turned to the camera quite uncomforting due to the other women’s poses seeming quite staged and comforting to the girl, where as his turned back to the situation suggests he is searching for hope elsewhere. The bad weather that is visible through the window also reinforces the serious and negative nature of the image and almost “the calm before the storm.” Despite this, I feel that the dark figure adds to the “truthfulness” of this photograph due to the composition not looking overly staged. I feel that the audience for this image would be someone that has been or is going through a similar situation themselves, however this was a very controversial photograph because some felt the subject wasn’t suitable for photography.
Unlike “Fading Away”, “ The Lonely Metropolitan” by Herbert Bayer is from an era of surrealism. It is extremely evident that the image has been manipulated a great deal, where as despite “ Fading Away” being slightly manipulated due to it being composed by 5 negatives, it goes unnoticed which effects how “truthful” viewers find the images. “ The Lonely Metropolitan”, shows a pair of open hands with human eyes staring from the palms, floating in front of a large building. At first glance, the image appears symmetrical, however it then becomes noticeable that both hands and eyes belong to different people, which begins to connote different meanings. The image captures the imagination and allows viewers to interpret it as they please, where as I feel that viewers would more or less just accept “ Fading Away” as a snapshot of a morbid situation- there is little negotiated reading into the image.
The shadows of the hands, and the way the fingers are slightly bent adds depth to the image. The hands, and eyes provoke the senses, touch and sight which then encourages the viewer to read deeper into the the meaning of the hands and eyes being slightly different-from different people. This suggests the idea of two different lives interlocking. A shadow falls heavier on the left hand, which makes it seem a little further back that the right hand, this suggests the right hand being superior, and so the hands could represent different social classes, and oppression in the city.
Overall, it appears that the 2 images reflect social chance, and highlight happenings and problems of their era. Social change may also effect how audiences view the images, and what they as individuals bring to the image. Both images are so different due to available technology at the time of production, changes in values and ideas of their time.