Before Plato’s Cave by Sofia Borges really pulled me in as a photo because of the spotlight shining down on the figures in the dark street. Borges did a excellent job of pulling the viewers eye across her work by having a hand in the upper right corner leading to the three figures in the light then moving down to the pavement and back into the shadows. When first observing this picture I only saw two figures in the spotlight, but as I looked into the shadows behind the hand near the foreground, I found the third figure barely visible. This is another reason why this photo stood out to me the most because Borges made that decision to have the viewer really focus on what they were observing in order to see the whole photo. I also love how much of an unknown there is to this photograph and at first not understanding what you are looking at. Borges mastered the contrast of the spotlight and shadows in the background but still being able to see the third person in the dark. When first looking at this photo I would not have guessed that it was taken in 2014, because of how she used film to create an older looking photograph. I also after getting back from the MoMA looked up on Safari what the meaning behind the title “Before Plato’s Cave” represented and found that it was part of Plato’s philosophy ( “the effect of education (παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature“.) Knowing the context I was able to see how the figures represented how human nature in our current world looked like in Borges perspective.

Another work that captivated my attention was Untitled by Andrzej Steinbach. I loved the contrast between the models fair skin to the lighter grey background and dark grey outfit. Steinbach made sure the model was not in perfect center and the eye moves easily from half of the model’s face in the lower right corner to the main female, down her hand to the left side where part of a table seems to be. It in a way follows the golden ratio because when flipped to its side, you can see how the main focus point the her face, and the photo spirals outward to the corners of the picture. Steinbach also was able to achieve a perfect grey by properly adjusting her settings on her camera to make sure nothing was blown out or too dark. She also used the rule of odds by having three things in the frame and the attention was pulled immediately to the center female with her gaze straight at the viewer. She also left enough space in the background by not cramming too much into the frame so that the viewer’s attention does not stray from the main female. Knowing that this photo is part of a big series also helps in understanding why Steinbach may have made the title Untitled because she made a whole series of people who did not have an identity to the viewer.

Lastly, I chose Joanna Piotrowska XXXIII photograph because of the harsh contrast between the model and the black background. Piotrowska used the golden triangles with the eye being able to move easily from the diagonal of the models body to the hand supporting her neck, down to the white and black background. I also chose this photo because of the unknown of the content and context. At first I was confused as to what was behind her and whether it was part of a chair or a person. I also liked how Piotrowska keeps the viewer wondering who is the person supporting the female and why does she need to be supported in such a way. Also I was wondering why she would title it XXXIII and if it meant what number photo this shot was or something deeper. Piotrowska also was able to achieve a perfect grey by not blowing out the models face and keeping the background a true black. I also was amazed of the detail of the link on her shirt and how you could see every hair on the male arm supporting her head.