Justin Baker’s “Brian, rose and square” is a black and white photograph that evokes deep emotion and mystery. The photograph is composed of a large glass vase placed on a shelf that is also made of glass. Inside the vase is a decaying rose that is severely drooping off to the left. The vase is also filled with cloudy, old looking water. The shelf is hung on a white wall that seems to have many imperfections on it. Along with the shelf, there is also a picture of a man hung on the wall. This picture is taped to the wall, rather than securely fastened like the shelf. There is very high contrast of values throughout the photograph, darker shadows towards the edges, and brighter in the middle. The darkness of the water draws in the eye by being placed next to the starkness of the white wall. There is also a light shadow being cast on the wall from the vase and stem. This photograph has a centered composition, and has no items that continue off the page. This photograph contains a high amount of uncertainty and mystery regarding the subject and meaning. If I were to try to come up with my own meaning, it would be that this is the view of a girl who recently went through a break-up. The picture taped on the wall is of her ex-boyfriend, “Brian”, and the flower in the vase was given to her by him before they broke up. The decaying of the rose symbolizes the end of their relationship and the loss of hope that she now has. The darkness of value around the edges, and the darkness of the water also symbolize the depression that this girl is feeling.
I really like this photograph and find to be interesting mostly because of the high contrast of value and mystery behind it. The high contrast makes the photograph appear very dramatic and dark. The darkness along the edges also creates a very mysterious and depressing feeling. I really like this photograph because of the mystery that Justin Baker created. There is not a clear story of what is happening, so it makes me want to know more and try to make up my own storyline in my head. For example, the picture of the man in the background makes me wonder why is he there and what meaning does he have to the vase and decayed rose. I am also very interested with the beauty of the shadow being cast on the wall by the stem and vase. It’s lines are very delicate compared to the more harsh lines created by the objects. Although I do not usually like when artwork has a centered composition I think it works well in this case. Having the focal point on the vase really helps draw the attention away from the centered composition, and the stem coming out of the vase helps draw my eye across the photograph.