This photo illustrates Power of the People among other things. As Americans we can certainly empathize!
The Photo Key
White dot code. Use the code below and compare it with the original above.
1) Starting with the blurred man on the right notice the white dot above his left eyebrow> point on his collar> center of goggles on left> black armband on satin sleeve> crease on black satin sleeve> negative space>to conclusion
2) You might be wondering WHY I chose the fist as the conclusion of this path.
Lets look at a larger version of the satin sleeve with some enhancing (below). Notice the crease in the sleeve forms an arrow pointing to the fist - or the conclusion. Hence, my conclusion. :)
Now, you might be thinking, "Hey, that's really evasive!" Good!! That is exactly what I want to hear! Challenge the code - I dare you!
3) Let's confirm the above code with the blue code.
BLUE CODE PATH: Hood>squiggle on shoulder>squiggle running up hand> fist
Remember, you can check the validity of this photo at any time by viewing at The Boston Globe.
The path leads us directly to the fist AGAIN!
What does the fist mean? POWER
Both paths (white and blue) infer the peoples' frustration was right. Why do I feel this is what the photographer is trying to say? The arrow on the satin sleeve is not the only time an arrow pointing RIGHT was represented; leaving us to conclude the peoples' response was RIGHT or justified. But there is a hidden problem not voiced by the title of the Boston Globe's piece or by the defined problem (pension reform). This is where you will have to investigate and find the allegory represented.
The path that will help you with your investigation is the path in flesh. I have not mapped it out here. BUT here is a clue: notice the man wearing a red mask (view actual photo above). Now, look at his forehead - do you see the inverted triangle? Look closer, it is the letter Y, so find the path in flesh this will lead you to WHY they were angry. I know this to be the case because there are 2 other instances where a Y is represented in the abstract of this photo that I won't be illustrating here.
And finally - WHAT DO GLASSES MEAN FOLKS? We've learned this throughout the series!
******* LOOK - TAKE NOTICE *******
As if the photographer couldn't have been more obvious by his use of goggles and a gas mask!
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| Notice the center of the goggles there is a three diamond pattern! What is the shape of the pattern? ANOTHER inverted triangle which is only part of this clue! |
I had to blow up this portion of the photo and sharpen it to show you this - but look - take notice a 3 diamond pattern in blue pointing us to the blue code! AND it's placed in the upper/center of the glasses pointing us to the FLESH code (above) which you will have to find on your own! |
This concludes my three part blog series on photojournalism and The Artists Code.
I hope it was both fun and informative!! |
