Part Four - Reading Photographs: Project One - The languange of photography: Exercise - Elliott Erwitt

Page 97 of the course materials includes the iconic photograph by Elliott Erwitt, New York, 1974, showing a tiny dog standing next to a person and a bigger dog.  When you first see the little dog, you also notice the person's legs and then it takes a second look to notice the bigger dog's legs.  The photograph is of course meant to be comical, it uses a classic street photography technique of finding disproportionate contrasts.

The image is structured using three subjects along the rule of thirds; using threes and thirds is a popular technique in photography composition.  The three sets of legs along the vertical thirds and the feet all positioned on the bottom horizontal thirds.  The face of the small dog is in the bottom right intersection between the vertical right third and the near centre.  If this a vertical classic portrait, that would be the ideal positioning for the eyes!  But there are also some out of focus objects in the distance that add some resonance: on the left-hand side, two tree trunks echoing the bigger dogs legs, and on the right-hand side, there is the outline of a structure that looks like the frame of the small dog.  Also, bizarrely, the little dog is wearing a hat.   Why is this?  But, cleverly, the folds of the hat look a bit like the wrinkles in the boots.

We are asked to consider what the picture is saying.  My initial reaction is maybe nothing, perhaps Erwitt saw something funny in the park and reacted in the moment?  He is after all renowned for photographing dogs.  Or maybe it is a lesson in looking closer, because at first you don't notice that the legs on the left belong to a dog, not another person.  But on thinking more deeply, is Erwitt saying something about giving everyone a chance?  In this image, he has given the smallest subject the biggest prominence; it is the only subject to show its face and stare directly at the camera.  Or is he saying something about the role of dogs in our society?  One of the dogs has legs the same size as a human, whilst the other dog has been dressed up like a human.  What therefore is the relationship between these dogs and human?  Companions?  Bodyguard?  Plaything?

I am going to a talk and book signing with Erwitt on 24th April, so maybe I'll find out!  If I do, I'll add to this post.

References:

• Erwitt, E. (1974) New York, image reproduced in OCA Context and Narrative Course Materials (2014) p. 97

Websites:

• Elliott Erwitt, Artist Talk & Book Signing in World Photography Organisation available from http://www.worldphoto.org/festivals-and-events/events/elliott-erwitt-artist-talk-and-book-signing/ [accessed 22 February 2015]