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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Five: Stimulating the imagination with “opposites and contradictions” > In stride, Parc de Bruxells, Brussels, Belgium, 2005
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08-JUN-2005

In stride, Parc de Bruxells, Brussels, Belgium, 2005

The largest park in central Brussels was once the site of medieval hunting grounds. Carrying a rolled document, a man purposefully strides through the park, past the fountain that stands before the Belgian Parliament. Could he be a legislator, carrying a bill? He seems to have acquired a small audience, dressed for the park instead of for work. The combo of contradictions here – the disparities in costume and activity level – creates a sense of contrast and tension. Our eye moves back and forth between the man of action, and the woman wearing a bright red shirt, a rising garment, revealing the small of her back. He is too busy to notice them, and at least one member of the small audience refuses to look at him. Does he feel privileged, going somewhere where these onlookers can’t go? Does he know something that they do not? Is he better off for it? Or are they?

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Phil Douglis19-Jan-2008 04:30
I see your point, Vera. As they say, "if the shoe fits......" Maybe an office job is not for you -- because in offices, appearance matters. This image is about clashing life styles, based on appearances. We know who this man is, and who those kids are, just by looking at what they wear.
Guest 06-Jan-2008 02:01
As soon as I saw this photo my mind went to the fact that I will soon be returning to work and putting on the female version of this uptight suit. I have always been torn as to where I belong...in a business suit or in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. When I look at him, I start to turn blue, gasping for air. While that red t-shirt cries out FREEDOM! Perhaps I have my answer....
Vera
Phil Douglis23-Jul-2006 18:47
Thanks, Ceci, for reading the mind of the suit striding past the fountain. You see those kids as snickering at him -- yet I wonder if he even crosses their minds. The generations here, as they may be in life itself, are so far apart.
Guest 23-Jul-2006 05:34
I get the feeling that these casually clad, relaxed, in-the-moment kids are snickering at the guy walking past in his "uniform"; and that the guy, oblivious, is thinking as he approaches the vivacious fountain: "ooooo, can't wait to get home to Mimi tonight, I'll do some spouting of my own!"
Phil Douglis07-Jul-2005 00:32
My God Marisa! I didn't mean to get you back to family issues again! I'm sorry if this fellow who represents such self-centered ambition to reminds you of your brother. To me, he represents all who hold power and privilege. And those who sit on the ground behind represent those who do not, and really don't seem to care very much, either. As you say, this is image is full of contradictions -- walking and sitting, symbols of power and apathy, and as you say, even master and slave. He is not even afraid of getting wet.
Guest 06-Jul-2005 23:50
Big contradictions here... I like that!
not only the geometrical forms that Jen and you pointed. What I see here is the difference in the level between the fancy man and the group of young people in the ground. And I mean level by pointing what seems to be a line that separates them: he is walking, full standing while the rest is just sitting in the ground, down there.
The fancy man just don't care about the others, his only has in mind the Parliament (and what that place can give to him). It is curious, because the Parliament usually represents 'the people' of the country...
Up and down, master and slave, power and submission... all contradictions.
And now I discover that this image is a perfect representation of my own brother!!
Jennifer Zhou05-Jul-2005 09:42
I saw the reversed shapes but didn't realize the about how it fits your opposites theme...haha...and the shape in the negative space between the onlookers. Thank you Phil for the long response and it is indeed a good review for me on Henri's recongnition of an order and his decisive moment. Now I like this picture even more~
Phil Douglis04-Jul-2005 03:02
Good eye, Jen. Actually, the geometric repetition you see here is reversed -- the fountain makes a "V" while the man's legs create an inverted "V," which fits well with the "opposites" theme of this particular gallery. There is also an implied "V" shape in the negative space between the bodies of the onlookers. All of these things help weave the image together in a coherent whole. I did not do it consciously, however -- I was concentrating on the contradictory relationship between the man and the people on the grass. The image seemed to organize itself. But the ability to organize an image geometrically while concentrating on the moment at hand can be learned over a period of time, and it eventually becomes intuitive, even if quite rarely. Perhaps that is what happened here. It is what Henri Cartier-Bresson called "the recognition of an order" -- spontaneously expressing a decisive moment in time within a coherent geometrically arranged context. Only he was able to do it consistently, something very few others have been able to match.
Jennifer Zhou04-Jul-2005 02:30
The first thing I notice here is the shape of the man's legs with the shape of fountain. The similarity of the geometry here made this man part of the view that the group of people are enjoying..
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