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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Two: Travel Incongruities > Asleep at the board, Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006
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07-AUG-2006

Asleep at the board, Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006

Chess is a game of the mind. But not when that mind is shut down. The board is ready for the first move. Yet the opponent is missing and the player is sleeping! To make this incongruity work, we must be sure that this man is actually a chess player. I had no way of knowing. I couldn’t ask him. So I made this photograph and allow my viewers to decide. It is also entirely possible that this man may live in the park, and was simply asked by serious chess players to hold the board for them while they went to lunch. And this is how he holds it? If such are the facts, then we still have an incongruous image here. One does not usually lay claim to a chess board while sound asleep.

UPDATE:

More than a year after I made this image, I received an email that provides profound and fascinating additional context. Read the following words and look at the image again. It becomes even more incongruous, and its meaning changes as well. Here is the message in its entirety:

"Hello, Mr Douglis:

That man on your picture which was taken in Washington Square Park is a real chess player.He is a Russian national master and chess teacher. Current status-homeless. He is known for his strong, professional game style with ELO rating around 2200.That's why he dosn't have so many opponents at his table.Most of the players just don't want to play chess with him, because it feels like playing deep fritz. Your photo shows that his eyes are shut, but his mind is on ''stand by'' mode, ready to go at any moment.
I hope that information will be helpful for your gallery data.

Sincerelly,
Zbig Kuczek"

Leica D-Lux 2
1/200s f/4.9 at 25.2mm iso100 full exif

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Phil Douglis26-Jul-2007 22:40
Thanks, Daniel. This image was made spontaneously -- I saw him sleeping at the chessboard, lifted the camera and shot. The thinking comes later, on both my part and the readers. As I told Ai Li below, my great inspiration, the late Henri Cartier Bresson, once said that "in photography, we don't think, we act." Or react, as the case may be. Yes, this image does lead us to thought, humor, and mystery. Yet it all to came to be spontaneously. I have trained myself to see incongruously, and this situation just jumped out at me and I responded instinctively.
Guest 26-Jul-2007 21:09
There's something very touching and endearing about this image, Phil. It evokes a lot of thought, with a touch of humor and mystery. Great capture.
Phil Douglis14-Nov-2006 01:35
I don't think he is going to give anyone much of a game, at least not on this day, Theodore.
Guest 13-Nov-2006 07:43
Yup, doesnt look like a chess player but then again, he might have been Bobby Fischer. :)

I'd have moved pawn to queen four (or d4). And, it'd look like he's just waiting for an opponent and fell asleep waiting. :)
Phil Douglis11-Nov-2006 01:29
Thanks, Ade -- no, I was not his opponent. I can't play chess and shoot at the same time. I can't even play chess -- I don't have that kind of analytical mind. (I wonder if this guy does?)
Guest 10-Nov-2006 19:42
I notice nobody has started yet, what a great capture. were u his opponent:-)
Phil Douglis15-Sep-2006 18:49
You are right, Lorraine. Kal's comment regarding this man as a pawn in the game of life was succinct and to the point.
I am glad you see humor in this image - I intended the incongruity of juxtaposing the supreme mind game to an unconscious mind to be amusing. Thanks for seeing that in this image.
Guest 15-Sep-2006 08:17
I really am in love with this image...humourous and touching. I think Kal`s comment is spot on! L.
Phil Douglis22-Aug-2006 22:53
Thanks for pointing out those bags, Jenene -- I would guess that they contain much, if not all, of his possessions. As you say, when we notice how he protects those bags while sleeping, the game itself shifts from chess to survival.
Good eye, and good point.
JSWaters22-Aug-2006 19:35
Chess is a game of cunning and skill, qualities we might assume this man no longer possesses sufficiently to play competitively. He sleeps in broad daylight, and as you say to Jude, 'his mind is shut down', not open to the challenges of the game. Of course, that may be just a stereotype, but he seems to be focused on his primary goal even while sleeping - his one arm supports his head but protects a bag on the table from vandalism, as well as keeping his other arm below the table where we see yet another bag sitting on the bench with him. This man's chess game may be one of survival more than anything.
Jenene
Phil Douglis18-Aug-2006 18:23
Yes, photography is a game of the mind, Ai Li -- on the part of both artist and viewer. Henri Cartier Bresson once said that in photography you don't think, you act. That's because for him, photographic expression had become an intuitive process, done without premeditation or thought. But most of us do have to think a lot in order to express ideas cogently. Yes, we use our intuition as best we can, but usually within the framework of an idea or goal or purpose. The viewer also must do a lot of thinking to get the most out of an image and make it his or her own. The human imagination is part of that thought process, too. Actually, an image must stir the intellect, the imagination, and the emotions in order to reach its potential as expression. Thanks for posing that question, Ai Li. And thanks, too, for linking us to your own image, which also asks as many questions as it provides answers.
AL18-Aug-2006 08:30
Talking about stereotypes and assumptions, you reminded me of my own image athttp://www.pbase.com/limaili/image/64639625 where I caught three men taking turn and enjoying chess games. They behaved and dressed so differently from one another, especially the tattooed one whom I dismissed too easily as a serious player. Back to your image, the missing player and his sleeping form did pose many questions and we're clueless of the answers. In view of my previous mistake, I seemed to find the well laid chess board rather inviting and I could almost imagine him waking up wide-eyed and suddenly ready for another good game when someone takes the opponent seat and pats on his shoulder. Phil, isn't photography part of a game of the mind too? :-)
Phil Douglis15-Aug-2006 20:14
An expressive image often asks questions and demands answers from its viewers. This is one of those images, Jude. Those very same questions ran through my mind as I made this photograph. That is why I wrote my caption as I did. A photograph such as this forces us to question our stereotypes and assumptions. He may be a street person who plays chess, but nobody will play with him. He may feel that a chess board offers him a reason for being in the park other than loitering. Or as I said, he may just be holding the table for other players who are away at lunch. In any event, his mind is shut down -- the juxtaposition of a sleeping man and a chessboard offers a study in incongruity. Thanks, Jude, for coming to this one.
Jude Marion15-Aug-2006 13:55
This image is so interesting, so thought provoking. The game pieces are tidyly set on the board, waiting to be played. The man sits on the bench, asleep, waiting to play. Both man and game pieces are dormant, awaiting a second player - as if both will come to life when a second player arrives. But I'm forced to question stereotypes ... the man looks a bit disheveled - messy hair, wrinkled shirt, unkept hands - is he really a serious chess player or an unfortunate street person or both? What is really going on here and are my assumptions about chess players and street people correct?
Phil Douglis14-Aug-2006 18:34
Thanks, Kal, for placing this image in my mythical pantheon of street photographs. I love your interpretation -- the game may indeed be seen as a metaphor for life, and he seems to be waiting for marching orders from a higher consciousness.
Kal Khogali14-Aug-2006 14:55
Your greatest ever street image Phil...because ironically...he is a pawn in the chess game that is life....he simply is awaiting his instruction for the next move ;-)K
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