Providence, Rhode Island,1983
Providence 37 by Aaron Siskind captures a display board with multiple staples and ripped paper. The weight of the composition is mostly in the middle of the piece, drawing the spectator’s eye towards the layered texture that the ripped paper and staples create. The whiteness of the paper with the black of the board creates a disruptive contrast of value. Nevertheless, because the majority of the white paper and staples are in the center, the negative space created with the dramatic juxtaposition of value serves as space for the eye to rest. This hard contrast between the light and dark values goes hand in hand with the passionate context of what is photographed. The piled ripped paper that remains stapled to the board communicates the force of the action to rip what once was a complete piece of paper. The fact that there are multiple different pieces that belong to several papers, creates a story of repetition of a physical action in the spectator’s mind. This repetition can also be perceived from the high number of staples seemingly floating around disrupting the monotonality of the value of the blackboard adding to the harmony of the overall composition.
What are the dominate shapes in the remaining pieces of white paper? Good observation of value, contrast, positive and negative space.
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