Learning To Look

Photograph Title: Black Woman With Chicken

Photographer: Carrie Mae Weems

Digital, Film, or Other: Gelatin Silver Print

Date Taken: 1985

Additional Information: Part of the Ain’t Jokin’ series. Kathryn E. Delmez describes this series as examining “humor as a socially acceptable way to promote officially unacceptable ideologies through unflinching pairings of stage photographs with racist jokes, ideas, or phrases."

1. VALUE Is there a range of tones from light to dark? Squint your eyes. Where is the darkest value? The lightest?

There is a range of tones from light to dark but only a tiny bit. The darkest value is at the bottom of her shirt where her hand is casting a shadow. The lightest value is where the window is.

2. SPACE Do overlapping objects create a sense of space? Is the space shallow, deep, or both?

The overlapping objects do create a sense of space. The space is shallow.

3.SHAPE Do you see geometric or organic shapes? Are there positive shapes, such as objects, or negative shapes that represent voids?

I see geometric shapes. There are positive shapes like the table and the drumstick

4. LINE Are there thick, thin, curvy, jagged, or straight lines?

There are straight lines, a few curved lines, and a small amount of thin and thick lines.

5. COLOR What colors do you see, if any?

There aren’t any colors because it’s in black and white.

6. TEXTURE Do you see visual textures within the photograph? Is there an actual texture on the surface of the photograph?

Texture can be seen on the wall, table, and the woman's sweater.

7. FOCUS What parts of the image are clearly in focus? Are some parts out of focus? Note: The range between the nearest and farthest things that appear in focus define the photograph's depth of field. (Think about the aperture and Depth of Field Project from last year).

The focus point is the woman and the drumstick in her hand. You can notice that there is a bit of blur in the wall and seats.

8. LIGHT AND SHADOW:Does the light seem to be natural or artificial? Harsh or soft? What direction is the light coming from? Describe the shadows. Are they subtle or do they create strong contrasts? Did the photographer use a lighting pattern (think about the egg)?

The light seems to be natural and soft since it’s coming from the window. There is a shadow in the side of her head which isn’t that dark and there is a second shadow created by her arm which is darker. The shadows appear to be subtle. The photographer didn’t seem like she used a lighting pattern.

9. ANGLE From what vantage point was the photograph taken? Imagine the photograph taken from a higher or lower angle of view. How does the angle affect the photograph? (Think about toy photography from last year).

The angle used to take the photo is eye level. The angel affects the photograph because the main focus point is the woman holding the chicken. If it was taken from a different angle, the main subject of the photo would have to change since it could give it a different meaning.

10. Based on what you have seen, what do you think the work is about? What does it mean or communicate? How do you know? What words would you use to describe it?

I think this photograph is trying to bring some humor into racist jokes because people are always making jokes about how African Americans love fried chicken. I would describe this photo as humorous and serious

11. Based on what you answered in the above sections, what are 4 items from the above sections that you would like to emulate in your own Photography? Why? (EX I would like to emulate Carrie Mae Weems use of value, line, Lighting, and Focus. The reason I would like to emulate each of these elements is ....)

I would like to emulate Carrie Mae Weems's use of the black and white color, focus on the food, the setting, and the message it’s trying to convey.

Learning emulate

four style elements that I incorporated into my own photograph include value, space, texture, and color. I incorporated Value by using the kitchen light to create shadows in the area the photo was taken. I incorporated Space by including the objects in the background to emphasize the size of the room and the open area around the cat. I incorporated Texture by using the carpet, the fur of the cat, and by making the background a bit grainy. I incorporated color by changing the colors of the photograph to black and white which also gives it a serious tone. Obstacles I faced in completing the project included what I wanted to take a picture of and how I was going to emulate the photographer's style. I overcame these obstacles when I remembered the photos Carrie Mae Weems took and how some never appeared planned but taken at the right moment and how some appeared to be random, so I deleted the previous pictures I took when I saw my cat laying on the floor and took the photo when he decided to lay down right in front of me. Examining a famous photographer pushed and evolved my own photography by creating my own style in which the photograph is black and white, and has no meaning to it because it was taken at a random moment. I think my photography has grown over the past few years because I learned how to use the other modes of a camera, how to edit photographs to look better, and learning to incorporate elements in my photos.