…this is a only a quick example of how you can analyze an image. Please do not copy this example exactly. You may use it as as basic template, though, ultimately I expect you will develop your own style, pushing this idea much further.
Project: 7 days of responding to your collected images of Visual Culture based on your selected theme discussed in class
Day 1: Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photograph known as “VJ Day” or “The Kiss” from August 14th, 1945.
I chose this image because it relates to my interest in the theme gender and possibly identity. I find it a political image given the sailor just grabbed a nurse in Times Square and kissed her. This makes me think of the current president of the U.S., Donald Trump, and the culture war underway #metoo
Here’s a wiki entry to signify my initial research. Normally wiki is not encouraged as a place to conduct research but given that this image’s popularity and how it’s been duplicated and re-iterated so many times it’s entered into a realm of kitsch I feel it’s appropriate.
Initial photograph by Eisenstaedt
The photo marked up using Photoshop to single out the formal aspects (elements & principles of art/design).
Visual Research can take many different turns, here are some additional images I’ve located that relate to Eisenstaedt famous photograph:
- NEW YORK – AUGUST 12: People gather beneath a 26-foot statue inspired by the iconic kiss between a nurse and a sailor in Times Square August 12, 2010 in New York City. Alfred Eisenstaedt took the famous photograph on V-J Day marking the end of World War II. August 14 will be the 65th anniversary of V-J Day and the famous kiss. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- image from Reddit
- Tattoo of The VJ Kiss
- Storm Trooper kiss where the light and dark values are reversed (instead of the nurse being in white she’s dressed in dark colors and the sailor’s replacement, the Stormtrooper, is all white
- The Kiss by Gustav Klimt, 1908