Class Discussion: Adams, Meatyard, Winogrand, Modica

Ansel Adams, Mouth Lassan from the Devasted Area, Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park, 1945

Before title

• in focus
• complex
• depth: foreground and background
• shades: definitive colors
• happy
• harsh/tension
• two focal points (tree, mountain)
• looks frozen
• all encompassed in picture
  

After hearing title

• actual place
• more narrative
• sad
• what you focus on determines mood
• lighting
• factual/focused on a place�

Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Untitled (Zen Twig), 1961

Before title

• not in focus
• simple
• flat
• blended color
• shadowy
• drowsy
• one focal point (twig)
• movement/bending/ghosting
• only twig/everything not included
  

After title

• not a specific place
• a thing, not a story
• more tranquil
• idea of something/forces feeling
• eye travels along line (twig)�
  

Gary Winogrand, New York, 1968�

• woman waving down a cab
• two girls
• divided into three worlds with curb in the middle: sidewalk, curb, street
• contrast of light
• hard to find focal point
• relationship of women and children—foreshadowing?
  

Compared/contrasted with Andrea Modica image below

• very defined
• busy
• clear
• more contrast
• lots of shadows
• movement through lines on street and angles
• angular and mechanical
• moving yet no motion�
  

Andrea Modica�

• boy in motion
• white dog in background
• arms are missing
• blurry/ to show motion
• boy is bent over/curved
  

Compared/contrasted with Gary Winogrand image above

• less clear
• drawn further back into the background
• less busy
• muted
• gray
• more organic