Juxtaposition
Dec 3, 2018 11:26:23 #
I read an article somewhere recently about juxtaposition in art or photography (I can't remember which it was) and saw this last evening in a local town. It seems to me to contain some irony. Do you agree, and do you use juxtaposition in your photography sometimes? Please feel free to add an example.
Dec 3, 2018 11:55:49 #
Terrific topic, Dave! Love how you saw the potential in that shot.
I can't recall ever using the word (try it as an adjective, even harder, lol), but I saw that one of Sharpshooter's main forum topics on composition had a chapter on juxtaposition. The topic is several years old but was resurrected a few months ago.
Also, I had compiled a list of "conceptual contrasts" that I believe falls into the definition - such as old/young, wealth/poverty, artificial/natural.
The few that I have are mostly nature-related; however, I was delighted to notice this window display in the rain one morning. I couldn't help but wonder if Miss Belle considered Beau's operation a success
I can't recall ever using the word (try it as an adjective, even harder, lol), but I saw that one of Sharpshooter's main forum topics on composition had a chapter on juxtaposition. The topic is several years old but was resurrected a few months ago.
Also, I had compiled a list of "conceptual contrasts" that I believe falls into the definition - such as old/young, wealth/poverty, artificial/natural.
The few that I have are mostly nature-related; however, I was delighted to notice this window display in the rain one morning. I couldn't help but wonder if Miss Belle considered Beau's operation a success
Dec 3, 2018 12:03:10 #
magnetoman wrote:
I read an article somewhere recently about juxtaposition in art or photography (I can't remember which it was) and saw this last evening in a local town. It seems to me to contain some irony. Do you agree, and do you use juxtaposition in your photography sometimes? Please feel free to add an example.
What a great idea. If I spend enough time on Melrose Ave in WeHo, and stand across the street from a high end dress store, eventually I'll see a Goth or Shredder girl walk by the window....
Dec 3, 2018 16:56:44 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
Terrific topic, Dave! Love how you saw the potenti... (show quote)
Good example Linda - right on the button. There are lots of interpretations possible of course. In my own example there’s a hidden one as well - House of Fraser is running out of dough! Back to yours - clever bit of positioning to get that light-fitting in the right spot.
Dec 4, 2018 08:05:08 #
I think that window displays can be really interesting. To my way of thinking, they are already the product of someones efforts, and inevitably stand as forms of juxtaposition in any number of ways. This was a favorite of mine.
Dec 4, 2018 08:22:21 #
fergmark wrote:
I think that window displays can be really interesting. To my way of thinking, they are already the product of someones efforts, and inevitably stand as forms of juxtaposition in any number of ways. This was a favorite of mine.
Crikey Mark, when was that taken? My wife wore dresses that long in the sixties! Can you describe the juxtaposition you see in the shot - and did you take it with that intent or simply as an interesting shot?
Dec 4, 2018 09:17:45 #
magnetoman wrote:
Crikey Mark, when was that taken? My wife wore dresses that long in the sixties! Can you describe the juxtaposition you see in the shot - and did you take it with that intent or simply as an interesting shot?
Crikey. I like that. I can hear my brother in law saying that. That was taken in the summer of 2012. I took it because I thought it was an interesting shot of course, having in mind the effect of the reflected overlay, but even though mannequins have been in windows forever, and commonplace, I regard them as really interesting objects, whose purpose is to inhabit all manner of spaces and adornment, so by their nature they are sort of a vehicle for juxtapositioning. For that matter, just putting a mannequin in a window is, in itself an example of juxtaposition. This is to my way of thinking anyway.
In color, the mannequins were silver.
Dec 4, 2018 09:33:01 #
Interesting, but where did the heads go? It's been a while since I have seen window displays, but the Mannequins always had heads.
Dec 4, 2018 11:09:57 #
SpyderJan wrote:
Interesting, but where did the heads go? It's been a while since I have seen window displays, but the Mannequins always had heads.
Jan, Im going to take a quick crack at the headless question. Heads draw attention away from the garments. Good heads would be pretty costly, and even so, would serve to distract from the merchandise. The mannequin form has become pretty stylized as it has evolved. I did a little hunting last year for mannequins in window displays, and didn't turn up anything I liked. I cruised a parking lot which had many panels, and I thought they were all appallingly bad, but I took a couple shots anyway from the drivers seat. Never thought they would come to any usefulness. They bring forth thoughts of aliens, and to make it worse, the head is spot lit, drawing almost all our attention, and I at least, think these displays would have been better for the merchandise, headless also. These look as much like a freak show, as a fashion show. Could be one day I decide I like that freak show theme.
Dec 4, 2018 12:03:27 #
fergmark wrote:
Crikey. I like that. I can hear my brother in la... (show quote)
I think juxtaposition can be interpreted to suit the user, certainly! More usually there’s contrast or irony, and again that can be interpreted to suit the user - so, if simply placing something somewhere it’s not usually found is indeed juxtaposition, I doubt we are going to get to the bottom of here. Thanks for your contribution Mark.
Dec 4, 2018 12:04:54 #
fergmark wrote:
Jan, Im going to take a quick crack at the headles... (show quote)
Well, I think we might be wandering off the subject a bit now Mark?
Dec 4, 2018 12:07:01 #
Contrast: nature vs. man, massive vs. tiny, controlled vs. uncontrollable?
Dec 4, 2018 12:13:17 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
Contrast: nature vs. man, massive vs. tiny, controlled vs. uncontrollable?
Absolutely, on all counts.
Dec 4, 2018 12:24:37 #
Dec 4, 2018 12:34:30 #
fergmark wrote:
Jan, Im going to take a quick crack at the headles... (show quote)
Thanks for the in depth reply Mark. After looking at the models in your shots, I can see what you mean. The lighting on the heads in the second shot definitely makes them look kind of creepy, and that isn't even mentioning the headless wig in the last shot.
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