Woman, Man, Man, Woman Photo

Photographer’s Note

Chicago is such a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic city, you'd think, without any identifying marks, this photograph was taken somewhere in India. But this was taken at the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park during a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert that included Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait narrated by Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

South Asians has a growing visibility in the United States - making their mark everywhere from Hollywood (think of M. Night Shyamalan - The Sixth Sense, Signs) to Wall Street (think of banker Anshu Jain of Deutsche bank). South Asians in the US, according to Newsweek, are wealthier and better educated than almost any other immigrant group. Median income of South Asians is more than $60,000 (national average, $38,885) and more than half of the 2 M South Asians in the US are college graduates. They were (and still are) critical to the Silicon Valley boom and to the outsourcing industry. In addition, about 4% of doctors in the US are Indians or of South Asian descent.

The South Asian immigrant community (included here are people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives etc) is one of the fastest growing immigrant communities in the Chicago area. According to the 2000 census, Chicago boasts a South Asian population of nearly 125,000. A section of Devon Avenue in Chicago's northside provides a glimpse of South Asian life - it is one of the busiest South Asian neighborhoods in the US. South Asian restaurants proliferate, as do grocery stores, boutiques, electronic stores, video and entertainment shops and jewelry shops. Chicago is filled with South Asian houses of worship—everything from the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, one of the most impressive Hindu temples outside of India, to the Al-Sadiq Mosque to the Gurdwara Sahib of Chicago.

Originally taken in color and converted to sepia using Nik Multimedia's Duplex Monochrome filter.

KevRyan, rhizomes, ishai, don_narayan, nerve, AndyGr1er, ElSato, neelkaak, MLINES, soma, cariosus, KateinDenmark, saikotic, erthmuffin has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bantonbuju (48490) 2005-09-19 13:13

smart and very nice composition; i like the sepia tones of the image, plus a bit of the mist flavor;
very nice work;
bravo;
best wishes, jerzy

clodreno (0) 2005-09-19 13:18

this is a superbe catch.. really good,
a fav...

KevRyan (22344) 2005-09-19 13:20

I'm not so sure on the treatment here Ken - I'll need to come back a few times I think while I really take the time to think about it - on one level I'm responding positively but on another I'm not - forgive my oscillations!

BUT....the subject matter and the composition are just great - I really like it - and with your note is just a perfect piece of PhotoText - as Jerzy said - very nice work!

rhizomes (15325) 2005-09-19 13:46

Hi Ken !
Nice shot !
I like the colors you choose for this picture !
Congratulations,
Christophe

ishai (4093) 2005-09-19 14:04

Well seen here,Ken
The way the man is looking at you and the way the women looking at him is very strong
The wall signs are well seen too
Well presented with a very detailed note

Ebbe (9571) 2005-09-19 15:40

Yep, that is exactly how the real ones look. Nice juxtaposition. I think the blur on the signs is a good thing as it makes the choice for us - hwelps us decide what the main thing here is.

don_narayan (2014) 2005-09-19 16:08

great shot, brilliant, simple composition.

Furachan (0) 2005-09-20 3:26

I'm with Claude here all the way - an outstanding shot, beautiful and moving way beyond the occasional chuckle occasioned by the irony of the misplaced signs...
Bravo!
Francis

nerve (10210) 2005-09-20 11:57

Such a great composition, you have a great eye here Ken, what a great catch!!
It would go to my favourites if i had more space..
Congratulations!

vapours (7913) 2005-09-29 20:29

Another marvellous shot from yourself, this scene looks as if it could belong to a movie..and the type of shot you could stare at and create your own meanings from.

Well done.

AndyGr1er (281) 2005-10-04 7:35

Clever shot here. very good observation. I think the execution is excellent, but it looks like there has been further treatment which doesnt quite sit right ... I think i might have prefered a broader DOF (for better sharpness on the wall signs) - but the sepia tone brings out really excellent textures on the wall.

all up, this is a brilliant shot!

ElSato (824) 2005-10-06 20:26

Ken,

Well, I'm arriving late at this party, but I'd like to add my approval to the others'. I think this is a wonderful, really classic shot.

Much of what can be said has been said, so I won't repeat it, but let me add this: looked at one way, this picture might not represent a humourous juxtaposition, where the signs are over the wrong people.

What if the signs are over the right people?

America is also a land where identity (cultural identity, for instance) may be preserved, or may become malleable and may be altered (gender identity, for example).

The man under the "women's" sign has something feminine about his gaze, despite his full beard, and the woman, with her assertive stance, gazing down on him from above, has something rather masculine about her in this pose.

To add to the effect, he is adopting a traditionally feminine posture (in many cultures) of looking away from her, averting his eyes, while she is filling the traditionally male role of looking directly at him.

I'm sure this is not what everyone will see here, but it's one more interpretation of this photograph (and the very fact that the image is open to so much speculation and postulation is a sign of its quality, I think).

Quite amazing.

Lee

P.S. Also an excellent, thoughtful, and informative note. I tend to write long, detailed notes myself, so I enjoyed this one a lot.

neelkaak (448) 2006-05-26 22:49

The composition is so simple and yet so strong. Excellent piece of work.
Thanks for sharing.
Kazi

kschanna (2634) 2008-08-07 3:45

Hello Ken,

Excellent composition mate, you seem to have caught the eye of the man but the woman is still oblivious to your presence. like I said before the composition is excellent. The diffused mood of the the photo is just right.

Well done

Regards
Kamran

saikotic (114) 2008-08-07 4:08