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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Nine: Composition -- putting it together > Medieval carving, St. Paul's Church, Passau, Germany, 2003
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26-APR-2003

Medieval carving, St. Paul's Church, Passau, Germany, 2003

I was astonished by the lifelike quality of this carving, and moved in as closely as I could to capture it in detail. The first few photos I made of it were more descriptive than interpretive. To make the image more dynamic and give it a sense of movement, I did two simple things. First, I moved back a bit to add a touch of context, and give the head a bit more room to work within the frame. Then I tilted my camera slightly, so that the carving flows diagnally from corner to corner. Diagonal flow can often add a sense of movement through the heart of an image, adding energy and vitality. That's what happens here.

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Phil Douglis03-Dec-2004 18:57
Thank you, Jen, for pointing out the sadness in this image. I guess that is what drew me to it as well. There is much metaphorical pain and suffering in religious art in general, which has always fascinated me. You picked up on the importance of my close in vantage point, which still retains enough context showing the incongruous, tortured head without a body. Your phrase "cursed, locked soul" is eloquent, Jen. It does, indeed, seem to be breathing its last breath.
Jennifer Zhou03-Dec-2004 16:07
Phil, I am glad you did those two simple things. It is amazing how a change of vantage point can bring this carving so vividly to our face and make it come to life as well. And thank you for moving back a bit to show us some context, because context here for me is very very important. We don't know the story of this suffering boy, but apparently from the context, he has no body only the head coming out of the gold trim sticked onto the wall. It is like a cursed, locked soul trying to call for help with his last breath. Oh....What a sad picture!

Jen
Phil Douglis10-Nov-2004 20:04
Thank you, Zebra, for your comment on the highlight and the diagonal. I did want to make this work of art come to life for you. I strongly disagree with you about cropping the white wall out of the picture. You forgot about the role of that gold trim rising up from the lower right hand corner and then bulging out to echo the shape of the round head. That trim's diagonal flow also echos the diagonal movement of the statue. The white wall itself is not a distraction because it is in shadow and neutralized. The eye goes to the highlights on the face, not the white wall. If I had cropped the white wall out as you suggest, this image would not have anywhere near the diagonal thrust that it now has. Look at it again with this in mind, and let me know how you feel about this picture.
Guest 10-Nov-2004 19:40
The face give me a strong sense.Especially ,when I stare at the high light on one of his eyelid and his underlip,I even feel he was alive.And I like your Diagonal flow.But I think the white board in the right disturb me.Maybe you could crop the image again.
Phil Douglis22-Feb-2004 15:59
Thanks, Likyin, for being the first to comment on this image. I saw the profound sadness in the face, almost suffering. But you have taken it to another level of meaning altogether. It is a very intimate image -- we are so close to it, and it is responding with such strong emotion. That's what I felt when I made this shot.
Guest 22-Feb-2004 11:19
Who's killing him? What's making him so sad, tired, and out of breath?
Does pressure always come with love?
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