ex 3
Joanna Ouyang
foreground
midground
background
Photograph Analysis Example for exercise #1:
The Soiling of Old Glory. Stanley Forman. 1976.
1. Description:
a. In the foreground is a man dressed in black holding a flag pole that still has the U.S.
flag on it. It looks like he is about to stab a black man (being held by several people)
with the flag pole. The black man is dressed in a suit.
b. In the midground is a group of people, mostly men in casual clothing. These folks all
seem to be white people. They are looking at the scene. It seems that they are all
looking at the direction of the black man.
c. The background is a row of buildings that look like brownstones clustered very
closely. The setting is in a plaza between buildings. The ground is not concrete like a
normal driving road. The ground is paved with bricks evenly. The street seems clean. d. The subject matter is people in an urban setting.
e. This is a representational photograph taken objectively because it doesn’t look like
these people posed for the photograph. 2. Formal elements:
Lines: There are lots of vertical lines formed by the bricks on the floor forming parallel
lines that leads toward the buildings at the end of the street. There are also lots of vertical
lines on the buildings on both side of the photograph. Lines are also repeated on the
American flag. The people’s legs look like vertical lines.
Texture: The bricks on the ground give a hint of bumpiness. The lines and stars on the
flag create a visual opposite to the solid fabrics on the people’s clothes. The checkered
pattern on the shirt of the man in the center of the photograph repeats the checkered
windows in the background buildings.
Color/value: The picture is in black and white. The man holding the flag pole is in all
black creates a small contrast with the black man in gray suit. The building behind the
man with the flagpole is in shadow which created a darkness while the building behind
the back man is doused in sunshine and appears to be very bright and light.
Space: The photographer composed this picture by juxtaposing the emptiness in the
foreground with the chaos in the midground. This transform the foreground into a stage
like environment.