Thursday, November 20, 2008

Those Other Two

This is a place for Meaghan and Spencer's projects. Sarah said she'd put hers online, so she's working on that.
But since Pamplemousse dearest is not a part of our blog and cannot make her own post, this is a place for her to comment on Spencers. And I guess Sarah's, since hers isn't up.

14 comments:

Me, Myself, and I said...

Spencer i really liked most of your pictures; especially the one of george. the one of charlie's face and when he is posing as "christ on the cross" or whatever, not so much. the poses/photos, i feel, could have been done better.
But yeah.. i really liked your George one. i do'nt remember the quote, but i liked it.

A Songbird Who Sings said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
A Songbird Who Sings said...

REPOSTED because my memory cannot be trusted. Wow, I fail.

Meaghan, I liked your photo of the shed/hut thing, and the quote about Meursault wanting to say he's just like everyone else. I should have taken photos on my phone or something, because it's hard to remember them all, but that's the one that sticks in my mind. The shed all by itself says to me that Meursault is all by himself, cut off from everyone else, through his own (in)actions and the reactions of people who actually possess a normal range of emotions. The shed is small, has no windows, and right now I can't even remember where the door is or if it's there at all. It's also surrounded by nature, which I think works in your favor because Meursault's surroundings and the weather conditions are often the only things he actually notices. Try as he might, Meursault has strayed too far from the world too late.
I also like the one of the dog and the quote from Salamano. First of all, the dog's cute :D. And second of all, it's nice to see a photo I can understand the basic point of without racking my brain too hard XD. If I recall the photo correctly though, the dog had a sort of sad-looking expression...

Spencer, one of yours that sticks in my mind is the one of the basketball net filtered yellow. I thought it symbolized the sun, but I reread the quote and realized it wasn't really saying anything about the sun. OOPS. I still think it makes a really nice sun image, though. And I still can't remember the quote because I fail, but I do remember that I thought it did go well with the photo because the angle the net hung at made it look kind of like a vortex or black hole. I can't remember why I thought this, but I remember that I thought it. Go figure.
I definitely have to agree with Margaret on the George one, too. Well, on the one of his rib cage, anyway, I don't know which one she's actually talking about. I don't remember the exact quote, but I remember reading it and thinking, in conjunction with the photo, that it was heartless and empty, like Meursault. I wish I could remember that quote now, because I know I liked the combination!

Me, Myself, and I said...

That last post? Yeah. That was actually Meaghan talking. Silly Meaghan posting in my account.

Meaghan: I like most of your photos. And how they are mostly less related to the quotes than my photos (that's a good thing, by the way). It makes one think. My favorite photo is probably the shed, off by itself. It's isolated, looking on as people go about their business, never really contributing much. Mersault is kind of like that, just looking on at the people in the world, considering himself separate and different. And I just realized this is exactly pretty much what Diana said. So meh. Um. I think the dog is probably my second favorite, actually, and I think the quote goes with that picture amazingly well. The dog is in the middle, kind of looking at you, kind of not. "don't follow me, don't lead me, just walk beside me and be my friend" (yeah, I ad-libbed a little). It's a nice sentiment in general, and I think the first part goes along with the theme of the book well. Mersault sees himself as a separate thing, neither depending on anybody nor having anybody depending on him. He will go his own way with whomever is next to him (did i use that correctly?). But he is going HIS way.
Hum. Another photo? I rather liked the picture of the log (though I still kind of think it looks more like a rock). But I can't remember the quote that went with it, so that's kind of useless to me right now.
I feel like the theme of your presentation is how separate Mersault is. He is alone, different, and he does not really have faith in anything. He is separate from the judgment day, that is coming for everybody.

Spence: I don't really get a thematic vibe from your project. And you did kind of make Charlie look like a child molester. But oh well.
Besides Charlie, the picture of the basketball hoop sticks in my mind. Probably because of Mrs. Richardson's comments about it not looking like a hoop and more like one of these things: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1045881&l=c75c5&id=770165190
(a light in the dark, playing with exposure).
But yeah. I like the picture of George. He fits well with the novel. Mersault is only a skeleton of a man, having forced away his emotions. And without emotions, what are humans, really? When taking the pictures I definitly did not even think about taking a picture of George... so kudos to you (and sarah).
I can't remember any of your quotes exactly at this point in time... But eh.
I like the picture of the flag the photoshopping (though i'm somewhat biased against it) might even help it. It makes it odd, different. It's obviously an American flag, but it's not the standard "what color is the american flag?" "red white and blue". I think this goes with the novel because it's a standard, accepted thing (at least around here), but it's not that same thing. Mersault is, quite obviously a human. He has human desires and "needs". He eats, sleeps, does things with Marie. But he forces away his emotions, becoming something different. All the people he speaks with throughout his trials talk about how he is different. He pauses before the other shots. He had coffee and smoked at his mother's funeral. And then went out to a movie! He has no faith in any god. These thing all seem odd, off to the other characters. Just doesn't make sense. Which is like the oddly colored american flag.
So kudos for that.
-this time? it's really me.

Esbee D.B. said...

Meaghan's:

Overall, really nice work. I really liked your presentation and creativity with your quotes and photos. One that really stuck out was the gnarled tree shot, captioned "Beauty is unbearable, drives us to dispair." The quote really fits the image: the cruelty and harsh lines making up something that is still, in itself, beautiful. I think it's also a decent perspective of how Meursault feels, though I doubt he would word it that way himself. It's easier, for him, to ignore it - really, I think it just hurts him, which is why he ignores it. He doesn't want there to be beauty.

The shot with the tires stacked on top of each other, giving the image of a tunnel with no escape, that just goes on and on until the crashing end, really works with your quote "No there's no way out, and no one can imagine what nights in prison are like". Death is Meursault's only escape, and only through giving up the one last option available to him, hope, can he reach it - again emphasized through the lack of escape and thus hopelessness of the photo.

I also wanted to comment on your "I hope the dogs don't bark tonight - I may think it's mine." The speaking character and his dog I find incredibly sympathetic, and almost touching - yet he beat the poor dog when it was around. It's a strange detail that makes me question whether or not we are supposed to look at that as good that Meursault does not know or an example of the folly of love and emotion that other people find themselves caught in. Are we supposed to feel for his grief, his hope that his dog is still alive and out there? Or are we supposed to find the statement ridiculious, as it is just an animal? While I think the first, the book seems to imply the second.

jewill13 said...

Spencer:

I thought that you were very creative with the color-changing and fading.

Pictures I felt did not really fit their quotes:
"Jesus" - If Meursault wants people at his death, why is the photo of him being all alone. I would understand if the quote was of his actual death, because no one is there, but the quote is about his imagining of his death - he is imagining people there.
"White Things" - This is a really random picture - I think that you could probably have found a better picture to fit this quote or vice versa.

Pictures I liked:
"Exit" - I think the barred off exit sign portrays that there is no exit for Meursault. He has become an outcast through his crime. This photo portrays that meaning very well.
"Ribs" - Empty rib cage shows that Meursault is incapable of love. Because he cannot love he cannot have sympathy or empathy - he cannot truly relate to other humans, such as Marie

jewill13 said...

Meaghan:

I really liked how you displayed you photos (except that my OCD self cringes when the black paper isn't cut or aligned perfectly straight. Anytime you want to come over and borrow my paper cutter....). Your photos themselves were very creative. I found it interesting how almost all of your photos had to do with nature and yet Meursault seems to be a very "city man" - his is immersed in people and his job, he doesn't seem to relate to nature very well.

Least Favorite Photo: "I hope the dogs don't bark..." - not bad, just not as creative as the rest of your photos. The others clearly had a lot of thought behind them whereas this one was much plainer.

Favorite Photo: "I felt the urge to reassure him" - Meursault is not like everyone else and you really captured this. Your house tries to fade into the wilderness, but it cannot. Meursault tries to fade into humanity but he is separated by his lack of emotions.

Esbee D.B. said...

Spencer - I really like your photos, artistically - most especially the ones I go on to mention.

First off, the George shot - it's pretty much been said that visually, it's extremely striking, and the play of shadows is really effective. The quote about the jury judging him works spectacularly with it - it's a shot of a skull, and thus of a human being, but the gruesomeness and the darkness disconfigure it into being a monster.

It's also interestinng that we have the almost same exact shot of the ribcage, except you emphasized the heat (later equated to people by Meursault) with the yellow tint.

I think my favorite is the red fire alarm shot. It just has a very retro, 50s-60s propaganda feel almost, like it could be the cover for Fahrenheit 451 or 1984. It's also very appropriate for the shooting of the Arab, in which Meursault's description of the heat reaches optimal intensity and he implies that he already knows that this will signal his downfall ("knocking on the door of unhappiness").

The only thing I'd nitpick is the quote going to your staircase picture. It's a lovely photo, but doesn't really convey a sense of going nowhere. Perhaps if the white was only blasting through the glass of the door, but it's everywhere, making it more of an image of ascending to heaven - something in which Meursault clearly does not believe.

martitr said...

Sarah -- On your dog comment -- I agree the photo of the real dog, standing kind of old and forlorn in the street (on the path?) is touching. I don't think the quote is ironic or ridiculous. I think it's meant to point up the vulnerability of even the most unappealing, grotesque human being. He too is subject to the vicissitudes (ohh- always wanted to find a use for that word!) of existence.

martitr said...

I agree with Jennie that some of the quotations don't seem to match, but not necessarily the ones she thinks don't! I really like your hoop, a very evocative image but the quotation doesn't do much to enhance it. I really like the composition of "white things" to and here I'll disagree with Jennie and say it evokes a monotonous and meaningless existence (which is also what your quotation indicates). I love George as well and the quote with it is quite appropriate. It is monstrous and again, well-composed. I think you have a good artistic eye. You do a good job with the unusual angle which makes the viewer look at the picture a little differently and I also think you did a good job with the photo-shopping in terms of color and balance. They're starting to fade a bit though on the crappy copy paper! I agree with Meaghan (as Marge) that the ones with human models (Charlie)are not as good. Not terrible, but they are not as striking as the others.

martitr said...

The above is about Spencer's --

Spence said...

im going to tell Charlie you didnt like his pictures.

Spence said...

meaaaghan:
The best aspect of your project is your connection of your quotations to your pictures. they all make logical sense. my personal favorite is the one of the abandoned shed which emphasizes a whole lot about meurauslt. that picture is a winner.
however you definitely need to get into some photo-shopping!
photo-shop those pictures and give them more of an edge. like i sate in jennies QA, i think picture shouldn't be so literal but should take a more abstract approach. it presents the emotion to the viewer with out him slash her having to look for it.
overall, great. i liked how you had a lot of pictures to view.

martitr said...

Meaghan -- My faves are thelooming tree with the quote about beauty. I like the composition and there's this dark, bare tree that's clearly old, powerful, maybe beautiful and the quote matches well. It indicates that beauty is not some cheesed out version of lovliness (like we get in the Renaissance sonnets) but something "unbearable" and in your photo there's also the indication of something terrifying in its power and ability to overwhelm or to hold out promise of something unobtainable.

I really like the tires too because first of all, it makes you look twice. It's not immediately recognizable. It gives the impression of a deep hole (even bottomless) or tunnel and therefore goes well with the quotation about nights in prison. To me it evokes a fall or entrapment.

My third favorite is the wet rocks. I like this quotation too. The water gives the impression of sorrow, weeping. Here too I like the composition. The rock formation makes you look for something -- like a hidden picture (something is masked just as it is when we have a guilty conscience usually --- visually there are lots of layers in the picture which I think is an appropriate representation of conscience).

Nice job. Cute dog. :)