Peter Buckley

This is a photo by Peter Buckley from 1957. It is part of a series taken in Bilbao to capture the drama of a Bullfight.

I chose this picture for a few reasons. Firstly, i really like the strong stylized composition of the photo, the steep triangular form created by the two figures and the contrasts between the two.

I also like the drama of the narrative and the action in the picture. The arrogant pose of the fighter as he leads the bull behind his back and the look of surprise on the bulls face as he realizes that he has been tricked. There is also the realization that this is near the end of the fight, with the Bullfighter in control, and Buckley captures an almost 'human-like' expression on the bulls face, as if the bull himself realizes that the fight is lost.

Thomas Struth
“Paradise 9”


I chose a photograph by Thomas Struth from the book “The Nature of Photographs”. It is part of his “Paradise 9” series. I chose this photograph because it revealed to me how photographs do not have to portray a specific image of an object but can infact let your mind reflect on the image and come to its own conclusions. Thomas Struth took this photo and others of the jungles of Australia, Japan and China. However he took it with the notion in mind that he was not portraying a specific place or country, rather just a scene that could be located in numerous places. The photo presents a kind of empty space, allowing the observer more room for inward contemplation. There is no context, social or cultural, to be discovered. He has changed the use of the photograph. It is called an “opaque” photo.

Space Framed Week 1

We touched on some interesting subjects in our first discussion.
Prior to our visit next week to IMMA to see & discuss 'Picturing New York', it would be good to post our initial photographic selection with a brief description on why we chose it.

Parade - Hoboken, New Jersey, 1955. Gelatin silver print; 8 3/8 x 12 3/4 cm. Robert Frank - From The Americans

I chose the above photograph.

The building offers the women a safe vantage point to view the parade, removing them from the action. They are passive observers but their faces and expressions are obscured from the observer and each other– by their building and their flag. There is a sense of dis-connection.

The photograph is, I feel, a combination of a snatched moment of time (perhaps it was momentary that the flag blew in such a way while they were standing in adjoining windows) and carefully considered framing. The selection of this frame exposed a spatial relationship but also clearly communicates something of Frank's observations on American life.