Exhausting A Place In Lincoln
A sudden noise reverberated around the vacant room, a noise somewhat hard to distinguish. It could have conceivably been a selection of pool balls colliding or simply two glasses clinking together between a couple of chums. I could not however be certain. On the other hand, a noise so distinct that could not have been questioned was that of the laughter of Mr Bell. He stood stern, slowly chalking his pool cue, some fragments remained but many dissolved into the noise surrounding them. He grinned a grin, sheepish yet sly, but what was it on this cold evening in Lincoln that provoked such a smirk. The source was in fact Mr Archer. Leaning towards the abrupt table he hence forth and broke the balls formation sending them fleeing off in every direction, nevertheless they never seemed to stray too far from their peers. For the cue ball however it was a much different story. It accelerated at first, visiting two cushions simultaneously but all of a sudden it appeared its performance would be cut short. It began to roll towards a pocket of impending darkness and soon enough faded into the abyss. Though the cue ball had tragically lost his way, rejoice filled the lungs of Mr Bell and his laughter soon succumbed to piss taking. He laughed at me like it was the funniest thing he had even seen. But yeah.. it was still a good night.
Image Analysis
By analysing this photo, I was able to deduce that it was taken in the year 1962. I was able to identify this by observing the calendar displayed in the top right hand corner of the photograph. I believe this photograph to have been taken in New Orleans, USA. During the 60’s in America there was a large black movement especially in New Orleans, thus being reasonable evidence for my claims. Furthermore, I believe the image to have been captured in the USA and not Africa due to the modern American style furniture, especially the grand oak bed. At this time in Africa furniture such as what is displayed in the photograph would not have been available commercially.
As we look at the visual elements of the image, the clear subjects are the man and woman situated sitting on the bed. We presume these people are a married couple, however the true nature of their realtionship is unknown. Situated in the centre of the image above the bed’s headboard is a Holy cross, conveying that these people ma be religious. To the left of the bed sits what I believe to be a jukebox, perhaps where the couple play music such as Jazz, a genre of music birthed in New Orleans. The expression on the pair’s faces appear to be glooming and depressed, this is reinforced by the pack of cigarettes on the bed.
In terms of the subject’s engagement with the camera, neither are facing the camera or each other for that matter. If this is to be an image of a couple, they appear to be one that is displeased by the other; perhaps a sign of the tension that would be occurring at the time as the black race fight for civil rights. If the photographer has positioned them this way I believe it to be to reinforce the division occurring in New Orleans at the time and how perhaps religion can divide people; symbolised by the Holy cross. I believe the photographer is trying to create a visual sense of the struggles that occurred during this time for black people and how this tension is simply not just present in the public, but too in the private sectors of people’s homes.
Leave a comment