There's more than what meets the Eye

Just a note: This blog post is a bit unconventional.

At first, I was reluctant to choose this image. Marilyn Monroe is one of the most well known women in history. However, everyone seems to have a misconstrued perception of her and her life. Societies view of Marilyn is completely fabricated and altered. Everyone believes her to be a young independent woman who changed the world with her infamous beauty and talent. This is not actually the case. There is no doubting how gorgeous she is or her trendsetting ways. However, her talent and past has been talked up to be anonymous with the truth.
Here are some real facts before I delve into the complexity of this photograph. You may wonder why I'm including all of this prior to analyzing the photograph. I believe that in order to correctly see where I'm coming from with my interpretation this is a sort of necessity.

Marilyn's real name is Norma Jeane Mortenson. I'd like to let Wikipedia take it away here because this story is not only alarming but merely a glimpse into Marilyn's "unspoken" life: (ps. Gladys was her mother). "Gladys was mentally unstable and financially unable to care for the young Norma Jeane, so she placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, California, where she lived until she was seven. One day, Gladys visited and demanded that the Bolenders return Norma Jeane to her. Ida refused, as she knew Gladys was unstable and the situation would not benefit her young daughter. Gladys pulled Ida into the yard, then quickly ran back to the house and locked herself in. Several minutes later, she walked out with one of Albert Bolender's military duffel bags. To Ida's horror, Gladys had stuffed a screaming Norma Jeane into the bag, zipped it up, and was carrying it right out with her. Ida charged toward her, and their struggle split the bag apart, dumping out Norma Jeane, who wept loudly as Ida grabbed her and pulled her back inside the house, away from Gladys.^[19] In 1933, Gladys bought a house and brought Norma Jeane to live with her. A few months later, Gladys began a series of mental episodes that would plague her for the rest of her life. In My Story, Monroe recalls her mother "screaming and laughing" as she was forcibly removed to the State Hospital in Norwalk."

Marilyn suffered a very troubling childhood. Her father and mother separated before she was born and she, herself, never accurately knew who her father was, seeing as she was the third of Gladys children from different fathers. At the age of 11, she was sent to live with her Mother's best friend and her husband. Her husband had attempted to sexually assault Nora and this was the end of that living arrangement. Throughout her life, she dealt with severe stress and anxiety due to self esteem issues and lack of confidence. She went through a roller coaster of not being able to find a job and being on one successful movie titles. This was sure to do a bit to her emotional stability. She was forced into shooting nude to gain PR but was only paid once for this. Fast forward into the end, Marilyn was found dead in her home by her psychiatrist because of barbiturate poisoning. These are anti-convulsants and hypnotic drugs that are typically used for surgery's. However, have been used many times by celebrities who then passed away from overdose
All in all, Marilyn did not live a typical glamorous life. All people seem to really see are her infamous hair and red lipstick. Not to mention her quotes about being yourself no matter what anyone thinks. This photograph completely reflects the idea that Marilyn was internally struggling. Her eyes look distressed and it seems like there's a deep hurt there. It's easy to misunderstand this photograph and her life by her poses. She's posing in a manner that many people would describe to be "damsel in distress" like. On the other side, she truly does look strong and independent. The photograph adequately represents that in the fact that shes alone, in the middle of no where, in a vehicle. But she looks completely poise, still and confident. The black and white also adds an element of mystery. And I feel like that is the entity of Marilyn Monroe, mystery. Her life ended short at a young age of 36. There are many things we don't know about her and I feel that that adds to her complexity and demeanor. 

Fear of the Inconclusive

While looking through Alex Webb's photographs, I sensed a different form of technique that I was never really exposed to. He seems to love to photograph people in their completely raw setting and I feel like there's something so beautiful about that. I love that he doesn't romanticize his pictures and their settings to be more than they really are just to please the audience. His photographs are definitely very symbolic and every element in the picture adds a different meaning and feel.
This photograph definitely stood out to me as soon as I saw it. It can be interpreted in so many ways. I believe that it represents how freeing life can actually feel. I feel that a lot of people are almost suffocated and irritated just to live their day to day lives. That is one of the greatest tragedy's that one can witness. Life has so much potential to have everything you could ever dream of. But, if we as humans succumb to a mundane cyclic lifestyle, there is no doubt that we would one day dread waking up the next morning. The man in this photograph appears to have intentionally jumped and expected it to be a lot less vigorous than it turned out to be because of the motion of his body. The photograph was so well done for one reason in specific: he didn't include the mans face and his expression after jumping. I felt like that was a very clever choice on his part. Photography should always leave  room for interpretation, any art should. By showing his face, I feel it would've given away the beauty of the photograph. I love that the clouds are gray and are very difficult to tell what type of weather there is outside. I felt that that was symbolic for the man's enjoyment. As the viewer, you aren't completely sure if the man is enjoying it just as much as you are unsure if it is sunny or gloomy. The gleam of trees in the far left side of the picture give an element of peace. It seems unusual to say but the tree's actually reassured me that the man would be okay after this picture.

Indescribable Directions

While researching Henri Cartier- Bresson and looking through his photographs, this one definitely stuck out as a defining image. It represents so much and could mean a multitude of things to different people looking at the photograph. There are so many things that I love about this picture. First and foremost, I'd have to say my favorite kind of photography is black and white photographs. I feel like it gives the image so much depth and dimension while allowing the viewer to infer the details of the picture. I feel as though  that more often than not, we are simply handed things to absorb, accept and move on. However, black and white photography gives you half the story and allows the reader to fathom his/her own ending; which I believe is one of the most beautiful things about photography.

This photograph is extremely symbolic of life. It begins with this chaotic and unruly tree that has leaves that don't seem to have a beginning or end. It ventures into organized chaos and eventually becomes this stable and beautiful line of trees that have a distinct direction and purpose. The beautiful line of trees eventually vanish into nothing, as if they had never existed. The grass on the same also begin complex and jadded and lead into a constant field of discipline and formality.
I believe that this is really what life is. We begin our lives unsure of who we are and what we want or what we plan to accomplish. And eventually, all of the little details fall into place and we become who we were meant to be all along. We create stable and distinct lives that mean something. Instead of chaos and distractions. we form complexity and dimension. And life begins to make sense.