Real Vs. Ideal: Summer in Autumn

This first portrait tries to capture the "ideal." Summer is a woman. She appears to be in the kitchen cleaning, properly owning her role as a female. This of course is the ideal: what we should aspire to be. She is aware that she is being looked at as female subjects have been in the greater part of art history. Her expression seems to say "Hurry up. You're distracting me from my job. I really need to get back to work." All of this works together to capture Summer's fulfillment of her Biblical duty: the ideal.

(kidding, kidding)

This second portrait (our ACTUAL "ideal") seeks to capture the what we seem to strive for in today's society. This portrait is still somewhat of a parody of the ideal. Summer is aware of the viewer, which hearkens back to much of art history's take on gender roles. She is placed in a position that is "pretty" for pictures, but would probably be awkward to maintain comfortably for a longer period of time. She is obviously posed, but not in an outrageous, dramatic, Lady Gaga-esque position, so as to "appear natural."

The third portrait seeks to capture the "real." Summer is relaxed as she is talking to her friends who she brought along with her for part of the shoot. It seems that she is almost unaware of the camera. She is not placed in some glamorous-but-awkward position with a gentle breeze blowing through her hair. Nor is she casting a sultry gaze at the viewer. She is simply Summer. This photo shows that even the "real" moment can be captured and still be a thing of beauty.

Reflections