Week 2 - Exhibition Analysis

Brian Griffin, Big Bang, 1986

The photo above, on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, was taken by photographer Brian Griffin in 1986, titled Big Bang. In the photo, a construction worker gazes up at an exploding firework in an empty construction site. The compositional aspect that I believe contributes to the meaning of the photo and how it is perceived is framing. First, the firework blast takes up the majority of the frame, positioned with the center of the blast in the upper middle area of the photo. With this photo being large, the striking firework blast immediately caught my attention in the gallery. The framing of the firework gives the photo a cosmic feeling, in that the explosion is so large it is almost celestial. This also falls in line with the title of the work, Big Bang. The Big Bang conveys a feeling of an incomprehensibly large explosion, one that birthed the entire universe. Comparing this firework to the Big Bang gives it a similar feel of a grand blast that lights up all around it. Another crucial element of the framing of this photo is the construction worker framed in the bottom middle of the photo. The man takes up a relatively small portion of the photo, but is where the eyes are directed after the firework. He is framed below the explosion and in a way that makes him look very small compared to it. This element similarly conveys the feeling of a cosmic explosion, one that is out of control of any human and is strikingly beautiful.

Stephen Gill, Night Procession, 2017

The photo series above was taken by Stephen Gill, and shows the nighttime activity of animals in rural Sweden. These photos were taken using a motion sensor that triggered an infrared flash and a camera shutter when animals passed by. The first photo captures an owl mid-flight, while the second and third capture what seems to be a Moose or Elk. The photos are shot in black and white, as a result of the infrared flash and camera sensor. This photo series gives the viewer a view into what a rural setting looks like a night, with large and small wildlife out living their lives with no human interaction or intervention. The black and white composition allows the wildlife to stand out against the dark black background of the night in rural Sweden. This allows the viewer to see the outline of the Moose, and the stripe pattern of the owl. In the first photo, the sensor must have triggered right as the owl was flying by to land on the ground or on a tree. This captures the owl mid-flight, showing temporality through the motion of the owl. The second photo shows the lower leg of what seems to be a large Moose or Elk. The framing of the leg taking up the entire length of the photo displays the sheer size of the animal being pictured. Finally, the third photograph shows a Moose or Elk standing in a wooded area, potentially grazing on plants or looking at something in the distance. The animal is contrasted in bright white against the background, and seeing the animal in this setting shows its true undisrupted actions and way of life. These photos are united as a series mainly with the setting. The setting of all three is likely the same wooded area in rural Sweden, displaying to the viewer what goes on after the sun sets.