photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Eight: Using symbols and metaphors to express meaning > Redundancy, Bruges, Belgium, 2005
previous | next
13-JUN-2005

Redundancy, Bruges, Belgium, 2005

I photographed a huge commercial barge bearing down on our small passenger barge from behind and was struck by the power of its redundancy. I abstract it down to a massive set of glowing mirror images in steel, symbolizing the nature of its function and operation in the process. By isolating and thereby stressing the double anchors, I am symbolically suggesting that two of them are better than one. The huge barge either needs twice as much stability when it rides at anchor, or else it’s owners and sailors must feel that it’s always important to have an extra one on hand, just in case! Not only are the two anchors mirror images of each other, so is the name of barge itself. We see it twice, because the people who own and operate this barge have made sure that it could be seen from either side. The redundancy of the name is also a symbol. It represents the sense of pride the owners must have in their barge. Redundancy represents things that can be omitted without loss of function. It also represents things that may not be always needed but are nice to have around in case something goes wrong. This barge image offers an ideal metaphor for such a concept.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
1/125s f/4.0 at 29.8mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis09-Aug-2007 21:08
Good question, Ted. I am always surprised at the string of questions an image might generate? Does having two anchors instead of one make this ship operate more safely? Could bridge builders add a second structure to prevent the kind of thing that happened in Minneapolis? A good question, but its answer would no doubt be tied to cost. Which leads us to another question: what value do we put on human lives? The more question an image generates, and the more answers it demands from us, the more effective its expressive qualities.
Ted Parkins09-Aug-2007 16:27
Perhaps redundancy would have saved the collapsed bridge at Minneapolis?
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment