Photographic Truth: No Pie In Kitchen and Purple Introspection

The “realistic” image presents a scene of civil war (Robert E. Lee photograph), slavery (the rope hanging in the corner and the lamp as a symbol for the Underground Railroad), poverty (sign of “No Pie In Kitchen” and the old brick), hunger (the sign and pie), and religion (faded rose on the wall with thorns pricking a finger – brings to mind images of Catholicism, such as Jesus’ crown of thorns and Mary’s identification with the rose) all lit by a flame of hope. These images of American history and struggle, some of which still carry on into the present, reflect a society whose ideology of true community has been skewed by these issues. The separation, as a result of the political issues of war, social stratification and discrimination, and religious controversy, has partitioned our unity as a human race. 

 We all have basic needs (symbolic pie), individual identities and memories (a photograph within a photograph), and the potential, but seemingly fading ability, to find beauty and good in this world (which will always come with some pain and danger – identified by the rose with the thorns). The largest of the images in the photo is the lamp, a most important symbol of hope. It is a need to rekindle the fire and passion within humans to care about each other, for the American people to become aware of the division, and then to burn these false boundaries, and light the way for a better future. The pie is not cut and is not “in kitchen.” Thus, are we serving ourselves to a greater, global cause? How would the viewer serve the pie? Does it need to be cut and divided? Can it be shared another way? The divisions we make are imaginary; they are not real.

The “fantastic” image I created addresses a world of convention and order overlooking, with fear and desire, a land of wildness, change, and freedom. The woman sitting on the balcony of the apartment building looks upon a version of herself in that chaotic world. However, she feels trapped by her manners, only able to overlook the scene. The building in the background, which has been to some degree covered up and hidden by nature, symbolizes domesticity and foundation, as well as the old opinion that the place of the woman should be at home. Both images of the woman are a little transient in their opacity to show that their role is always changing and their place is not defined or set in stone (as conventions and social constructions would lead one to believe).

The color scheme adds another underlying message. Purple, a color on the color wheel that is between red and blue, adheres in this image to the connection of females with the color pink and further empowers them with the potential to cross into the traditionally masculine color of blue. Purple is in between the two, a color of unity and equality of the sexes. In fact, the hue of the woman in the picture is mostly blue, challenging the male perspective, as well as her own. This blur of color significance leads the viewer to contemplate what the “true” role of women is and whether there should be boundaries at all. In a moment of introspection, which this woman has found herself in, can she break loose of the walls around her? Can she redefine her sense of place and purpose?