Visual Analysis

When reading Visual Methodologies by Gillian Rose, the main image that remained salient in my mind throughout the piece was a photograph I had seen many times. Whether it was in poster form on the wall of my friend's room or featured as a supplement to World War II in a history book, this image kept flashing through my mind.

This iconic photograph taken on August 14, 1945 by German-American photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, is titled V-J Day in Times Square. Like myself, I'm sure many of you have seen this photo on numerous occasions. But have you ever considered the context in which this photo was taken? And by context, I mean the social modality that Rose details.

What I mean it to refer to are the range of economic, social and political relations, institutions and practices that surround an image and through which it is seen and used.

In layman's terms, Rose's definition means that a viewer must be aware of the current state of the society on various aspects, such as social, political, and economic, to fully understand the meaning of an image. The day V-J Day in Times Square was taken, it was announced in the United States that Japan had surrendered, signaling the end of World War II. This photo was taken in the midst of celebrations in the streets of New York's Time Square after the announcement. Understanding the historical context of this photograph is crucial in determining it's meaning for a viewer because without knowing in which era it was taken, a viewer could mistake it simply as a man and a woman kissing. While that superficial interpretation is true, a viewer can reach a deeper understanding by knowing the social modality and that understanding will inevitably have a more emotional impact.

After reading about the historical context of the image, let us now consider the exact site and surroundings of the photo, or as Rose states, the compositionality of the image. The viewer is immediately drawn to the couple kissing, which is the focal point of the photograph. Focal points are one of the main components of visual perception that is described in Visual Communication by Hilligoss and Howard. They state that people tend to initially focus on a few pieces of the whole rather than see the image in it's entirety. When looking at the focal point, the viewer notices the sharp contrast between the clothing of the man and that of the woman. The man's sailor uniform is completely saturated into a deep black - the darkest value of color in the photo. On the other hand, the woman's nurse uniform is completely white, the lightest value, evoking a feeling of purity and wholeness. The clear contrast between the lightest and darkest values allow the couple to be the most prominent figures in the photo. The other figures and buildings in the background of the image are blurred whereas the couple is completely discernible. Whether this blurring was an intentional alteration by the photographer or a result of the camera's technology of the time, it makes the focal point of the image stand out even more. The color's in the background are also less saturated than the color of the couple's clothing, which "helps us distinguish figure from background."

Another aspect pertaining to the photograph is the notion of gaze. Rose mentions the element of gaze in noting Pollock's analysis of a Doisneau photograph. This not only includes the gaze, or lack thereof, of the central figures, but also the gaze of those around. In V-J Day in Times Square, the viewer cannot see the gaze of the couple because of their positioning, but can assume that their eyes are closed because they are kissing. What we are interested in is the gaze of those around the couple. What do you think the gaze of surrounding people indicate about the couple, the context, and the overall image?  There is a young, male sailor to the left and and elderly woman to the right in the background, both of their eyes locked on the kissing couple. They're smiling and their gaze indicates that they are happy for the couple, happy about the current state of society, or both. When the viewer eventually notices both of these people's gazes, they are immediately directed back toward the couple.

Now, take a look at the exact same image, digitally remastered in color.

From this image, we can see that the sailor's uniform is actually navy blue, not black like the original image. The woman's outfit still remains a pristine white color. The contrast from the dark navy and the bright white is still sharp like it was in the original. However, the emergence of color into background buildings and figures adds a different element. The "Bond" building that was barely noticeable in the original black-and-white shot, is now quite prominent in a highly saturated red color. The old woman who was but a blurred figure in the original, now stands out in her vibrant blue dress. Signs and billboards in the far background are now paid attention to because of their hues, no longer on gray scale. Clearly, color is affecting perception of the same image, possibly in a negative way that distracts the viewer from the focal point. What do you think? Do the vibrant colors in the background distract you from what is happening in the foreground?

Next, consider a recreation in modern day of the same image. 

Obviously the historical context is completely different from that of the original V-J Day in Times Square, but despite that, how does the compositionality differ? The focal point still remains the same: a man and woman kissing in Times Square. But clearly, the colors are very different. How do you think the hues and saturation of color affect the image and it's meaning? There is less of a contrast between the man and woman's clothing - he in all white and she in a pink floral. The print of her dress incorporates white, making it similar to the man's outfit. This similarity does not make each individual, and their clothing, stand out as much as it did in the original photograph. Also, the amount and variety of color in the background distracts the viewer from the focal point of the image and is somewhat overwhelming.

As you can see, color definitely plays a major role in our perception of an image. It can alter our focus on the central figures of an image and transition our gaze to backgrounds features. While color photos can show much more intricate detail than black and white photos, sometimes we would much rather see an image in black and white. Today, many photos taken in color are transformed into black and white. Why do you think this is? Do you have a preference for color or black and white images? Does it depend on the context of the photo?