black and white

The power of photography is its ability to make us feel and imagine from nothing more than a  2 dimensional collection of dots on a piece of paper or computer screen.  “Mannequins” by Isengardt, definitely makes you feel something, the best word I have to describe it is “uncomfortable”.  This is a “rule breaker” image, and why it works so well.  The mannequins have been transformed by the light and composition into something other than the typical figure of glamour we expect.  Messy hair, harsh light, and black clothes create something more out of a Hitchcock movie then a department store. We associate the eyes with life and personality, here they are lifeless, the gaze of each directed somewhere off frame.  This otherworldly scene takes the viewer out of their comfort zone, one of the greatest purposes of art.

“The purpose of art actually is, in many cases, to make you feel quite uncomfortable. Or at least to go to that place that’s already of discomfort inside of you and tap into that.”  – Michael Moore