Mary Sargent © 2006
Mary Sargent © 2006
Still last Wednesday, I rounded Riverside and walked east on 102nd Street toward Broadway. On the way, this fortuitous juxtaposition occurred. I originally picked one of the two photos to post, but then I had the great idea of putting them both up and asking which one you would choose. Or is that such a great idea? We'll see. If I get any comments, I'll tell you at the end which one I chose and why.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Upper West Side, 102nd Street, West of Broadway
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6 comments:
In the top one I like the curve of the girl's hair and the intense yellow.
In the bottom one I like the caged tree as a fulcrum balancing the two yellows.
The bottom one, of course!!!
How could you even ask?
I prefer the bottom photo, mainly because there is something about the more-distanced (and -distancing)viewpoint that, to me, is more poignant and moving (the woman being smaller and further away reminds me of something or other). On the other hand - there is ALWAYS an other hand, for me - I like the way the yellow is stretched out, in the closer view. But I'll stick with bottom.
One other comment (to Luka, actually): I want to clarify my statement re seeing color (in New York or anywhere) - I meant that I,for one, perceive street color not at all as sharp and, well, colorful, as in photos (Mary's, for instance). I am a painter, by the way, and feel I am a good colorist - but reality seems greyer, to me, than in art.
The bottom one is too symmetrical and balanced for me -- it makes me focus more on that grayish middle car -- when what really gets me going is the gal and yellow car coming in from my peripheral vision.
Thank you so much for your comments. It's so interesting to me to hear what other people see, so often things I hadn't even thought of.
I originally chose the top one because of the large yellow shapes. I typically translate things into flat abstract shapes, when possible. But as I looked more at the bottom one, I began to appreciate it more. It seemed more dynamic. The car and girl pulling apart, more on the edges. More tension. I also like that you can see part of the townhouses on the other side of the street. And finally, there's just a quirky reason: the white car on the other side of the street loses its upper edge and blends into the white building behind it.
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