My Object Analysis project is a photo series featuring mannequins, inspired by the surrealist photographs of Man Ray. The mannequins are situated in odd places, and various pieces of junk connect them together. They are also decorated in these found objects.
There are a few different physical representations in my project. A few photos include each mannequin wearing one piece of clothing and in different locations. The last few display three mannequins standing over a fourth that is lying down, draped in fabric and straws. The mannequins are all attached by string and are each wearing a different headpiece.
One of the goals of my project was to achieve tactility in my photos. While photographs are for vision, the inclusion of so many objects make the photos seem more palpable. I wanted to present an idea of unnatural space. Being at Parsons, the mannequins are hardly ever used in a way such as this, rarely for photography itself. I wanted to present an off-putting emotional response from these mannequins. The mannequins dressed in all these random objects gives out a sinister and creepy feeling.
My project includes many other objects besides the mannequins. There is string used as a connection, hats and clothes, Christmas bells, a broken clock, a broken lamp, aluminum igloos made by myself, a huge piece of burned fabric, many plastic straws, an old photograph in an old frame, newspaper, pliers, hangers, and one object I’m still not sure of.
My project used 4 different mannequins in all the photos. I knew I wanted to do a photo series, but I had trouble thinking of ideas of how I could elicit emotion from these torsos. Grace’s ideas of a mannequin being a form of identity helped me to form my idea. Mannequins are itself replicas of each other so my attempt was to disguise them all as differently as possible. Grace said that underneath all of the clothes, a mannequin is still a mannequin. Therefore, no matter how much information I put into the photograph, it is still just a photo of mannequins.
