Your Critique Please

'Death Sentence' springs to mind

Having said that my mind may not be altogether regular

inlaw skullduggery!!

Getting away with Murder (or how to).

Enlightenment, justice & mortality.

Well thanks for the comments and critiques. It's quite interesting how the perception varies from the intent.

My original idea was:
Our friend Janice translated the imnage as:
To answer the question about lighting. The still life is laid out on a large piece of black sateen and the lighting is from a large evenly lit window. Not too different to using a very large softbox. A second window acts as a fill light. I just love natural light.

This was an exercise in perception. It seems nobody saw what I intended, so I shall think about that. Maybe the concept was too complex to even have a chance of deciphering it? Or maybe the execution of the idea was too open to alternatives?

This strongly suggests international law and genocide/crimes against humanity.

Ooops...didn't scroll to the next page!!

I could see from the highlights on the gavel and skull you used large windows... as I mentioned the lighting was technically perfect, but... can I ask you this...
Would you try this shot again, same composition, same same props, but painting with light using a torch (flashlight here in canada) and some warmer tones? I am thinking you can convey some mood through your lighting and color balance that would add to the sense of foreboding one feels when ever contemplating the finality of our "end" if you get what I'm meaning?

Thanks Don. Yes, I will revisit this.

Of course, part of the problem with a still life is that there are an infinite number of variables, so almost anything is possible. The art lies in being selective, depending upon what the required outcome is.

I suppose the viewer could be guided towards the desired interpretation by a suitable title. A title will give clues and direct, rather like some of the comments in this thread did. It seemed to me that once a line of thought had been generated, it made it more difficult to find an alternative interpretation.

It's clearly a reference to the rather sad end that interesting and educated men (represented by the scull) are consigned to, when, after a lifetime of learning through the likes of Britannica, they end up dead. Then, their cherished belongings, reflecting a wide range of interests developed through that education, are put up for sale in an auction house (the gavel). Judges (and indeed sheriffs north of the border) don't use gavels, so there is no legal imagery -- in the same way that the lady with the scales of justice above the Old Bailey is not blindfolded.

It's well photographed, John, and I'd be interested in your interpretation. Doubtless not as pretentious as this one.

Al

I've already given it above Aero. As I created it, I wouldn't describe my thoughts as an interpretation, more a statement of intent.

Pretentious? Not really, art can be decoded and in fact is decoded in great detail by those who know. I don't claim to be an artist, but I am aware that there is more to the composition of the truly classic paintings than just a pretty picture.

It's probably a very big subject, but there's no reason why we can't start to think about such things as we have tried to do in this thread.

do you have any jaw fragments to add to the composition? something to suggest the damages to the skull came from the gavel? that'd be cool...

Interesting exercise, John, although I think the Major's reading is more perceptive than the original idea: now there's a thought! You say this was an exercise in perception, but perhaps the creation of a photograph like this is more an exercise in communication.

Many photographers or artists resist naming a piece, and probably rightly so; however I think in constructing an image, it sometimes helps to have a title in mind, even if it remains a well guarded secret. Could yours have been; Knowledge in life is fated to nothingness in the finality of death? My own reading of your photograph is along the lines that; Ideas are temporal unless judged worthy of publication. (and yours are)!

On the photography itself, it is very close to perfect, (apart from the book titles being difficult to decipher). The real problem with the image, however, is its search for perfection. Dust, dog ears, and finger prints, the stuff of life, would add another layer of meaning.

Enjoyed the conundrum, thanks.

Sadly no Don, the skull was a dental anatomical aid that was used to demonstrate X-Ray machines. There never was a jaw.

To me it represents or conveys "Knowledge"