Henri Cartier-Bresson's "Behind La Gare St. Lazarre, 1932"

Cartier-Bresson was a master of taking photos at the crucial moment, and I believe this photo displays that tactic better than any.  The setting seems almost grim with the evening or morning fog, and the sharp spikes of the fence seem threatening when accompanied by the zig-zag lines of the roofs behind it.  The lines of the background are sharp and reflected on the smooth surface of the water, but the rounded lines in the foreground pose a pleasant contrast.  Everything seems still except for the figure jumping from the ladder toward what is likely dry land outside of the picture's framing.  Yet, we can tell that there is no way that the man could have made it.  His heel is mere inches from the water, yet in this image he will never touch the water, never break its smooth surface with a splash.  He is forever frozen in time as a dark, blurry figure, suspended in mid-air.  Even the ripples the ladder made in the water seem unreal and add to the altogether strange and wonderful aesthetic of the photograph.  This image makes one wonder what happened after the picture was taken, and I doubt that if it were taken moment before or after that it would be such a famous picture.

Shepard Fairey's "Hope" Poster

 

Who can forget the iconic poster of Barack Obama that was widely circulated during the 2008 Presidential elections?  This silkscreen, created by Shepard Fairey, became the symbol of the campaign along with the  motto: "Yes, we can!" The colors used already conjure up the idea of a patriotic president, as only blue, white, and red are used in the image.  Obama's face is upturned, looking ahead and upward with a subtle smile in spite of his serious gaze.  He seems to be looking to a future full of hope, as the bold, capitalized words beneath him show.  A viewer could see him as a man who would not only bring hope and a bright future, but would inspire it in others in his role as president.  After the rocky term of George Bush, people in the nation were looking for someone young and determined to turn things around, to bring the change that Barack Obama promised in his campaign.  The symbol of his campaign, the sunrise over the red and white stripes, shows the dawn of a new era, and this idea so possessed voters that it is no wonder that Obama was elected president.  With inspirational, encouraging posters like this that epitomized him as the bringer and embodiment of hope, how could he lose?

Henry Peach Robinson's "Fading Away"

Having watched a family member slowly fade away unto death, I believe Henry Peach Robinson's photo, Fading Away, fully encapsulates the emotions that surround the event.  From what I've read, the girl in white is succumbing to consumption, what we now know as tuberculosis, and her family has gathered around her for her final moments.  Her mother stays close, fluffing her pillows as if wanting to make sure her daughter is completely comfortable during this passing.  What appears to be a grandmother sits at the feet of the girl, holding a book.  Perhaps she was wanting to read to her granddaughter one last time.  As for the father, he simply cannot bear to look at her, because he does not want to believe that she is truly dying.  Either that, or he is trying to hide his grief and despair from his family so they don't think he is weak or has lost hope.

Overall, the photograph is a heart-rending one, and the black and white of the photo shows the sense of grim solemnity and sorrow that the family feels.  Though they are surrounded by rich fabrics and luxurious furniture, none of their wealth can save their daughter, and she already looks to be an angel dressed in white, ready for her ascension.

Stuart Rosenburg's "Cool Hand Luke"

 

This movie about a prison chain gang shows the cruel irony of life as seen from Luke, a man who ends up arrested for drunkenly cutting the heads off of parking meters.  Again and again Luke proves to be a man who refuses to give up, and at multiple points the cinematography compares him to Christ.  For example: when Luke eats 50 eggs for a bet and collapses afterward, he is hailed as a hero and then left on the table, nigh comatose from over-eating.  His position almost exactly mirrors that of Christ on the cross: arms outstretched, legs straight with one foot over the other, and his body clothed in nothing more than a white garment to cover him.  He sacrificed his dignity to give his comrades a chance to enjoy themselves for a moment in their bleak lives.

 

 Comparisons continue when he escapes the prion for the third time, finding himself in a church in a thunderstorm.  He calls for God to answer him and show him why he was made the way he was, but he gets no reply beyond the police finding his hideout.  When his friend encourages him to give up, he simply refuses and accepts his fate as a man who goes against the grain.  When he opens a window to face the police and calls out the famous line, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate."  He's gunned down, and dies slowly for his peaceful rebellion.

Robert Mapplethorpe's "Ajitto"

Mapplethorpe's photograph, Ajitto, shows a different – but no less artistic – depiction of the male form than Arnold Shwarznegger.  The image depicts a black man sitting on what appears to be a covered stool or pedestal, curled in the fetal position with his head resting on his knees.  His arms hold his knees close to his nude form, and we cannot see his face.  Nonetheless, it is apparent that the man is handsome and well-built with strong arms and legs.  The photo is a mixture of blacks and grays, and the lighting is what gives the image its depth.  Light shines off of the man's muscles, and the smooth shine of his skin contrasts with the fuzziness of his hair and the cloth texture of the fabric beneath his body.  On an unrelated note: the shape of the body and pedestal remind me of a tulip photograph that Mapplethorpe took, with the petals closed tightly and the flower standing straight against a plain backdrop.

 

The man in Ajitto is placed on a pedestal, which would normally imply a positive thing, but he is hiding himself as much as possible in this submissive pose.  Does this mean the man is ashamed of being objectified?  If so, is Mapplethorpe really trying to capture the struggle and objectification of black people during the time of slavery?  Though the man's body is beautiful, he hides it from the world as he sits upon a pedestal, aware of how he is being stared at as an object instead of a person.  The audience then may realize how shaming slavery was for black people and how they suffered from the popular view that they were little more than property to be displayed or put on a pedestal for viewing.  

Whereas the white body of Shwartznegger would have been seen as admirable, masculine, and dominant during the time of slavery or unequal rights for black people, the man in Ajitto would be viewed more as an object to be owned than a person showing off their body type.  Though I do not think Mapplethorpe was racist, I believe he was aware of racist undertones and depicted them well if one juxtaposed the two images.  Not only that, but he aptly showed that the bodies of both races were beautiful, despite their differences.  He was attracted to the male body, thus he photographed it in all its glory.  Yet, he did not forget the people inside the bodies and the situations that affected the individual as well as a race as a whole.