Reimagining Visual Framing

          The original image I chose is by an artist named Sally Mann. Her original image and my reframing are similar and different in several ways. First, they are two different types of shots. The original piece is a two medium shot, meaning there are two characters and it is taken from the waist up. My reframing is a close-up shot because only the characters head and shoulders are in the shot. Second, both the original piece and my reframing have actual lines as compared to virtual because they are real lines that are created by the edge of an actual object being the boys bodies. Third, the rule of thirds applies to both images but the eye of the viewer is drawn to different objects. In the original piece, the rule of thirds draws the viewer’s eye into the boys grasping hands, which is in the center of the piece. In my reframing, the rule of thirds draws the viewer’s attention onto the blood dripping on the little boys face. In addition, the original piece has affinity between the boy’s shirts and contrast because one boy has blood on their face and one has nothing. Lastly, the objective and subjective of both images are different. The objectives of the original image could be the two boys themselves, their clasping hands, and/or the blood on the boys face. The subjective could be the reason behind why they are holding hands and why there is blood on the boys face. The clasping hands could mean that at one time these boys were connected and the blood on the boys face could mean that now there is something that separates them. In my reframing, the only objectives are the little boy and the blood on his face. The subjective could be that he just got into a fight of some sort and is bleeding from it.

            I was drawn to the original image because of all the questions is poses about the young boys. You cannot look at this piece and not wonder, why? I chose to reframe the image the way I did because out of the entire picture, the young boy’s bloody face is what draws me in the most. I feel that the answer behind the bloody face is the most important out of the entire piece. Although I reframed the picture the way I did, I think that Mann originally framed the picture the way she did because it shows more. The artwork has more of an effect when you see both boys especially since they are holding hands. My reframing doesn’t need as much explanation as the original piece does. Sally Mann did a great job with getting her viewer to ask why, which is something I love most in many artists’ work.