Visual Framing Re-Imagined.

      

I chose to reframe an image from pop artist Roy Lichtenstein since I admire vintage comic book drawings. The first image is the work without any manipulation and the second is one that I edited using Photoshop. I wanted to capture the intensity and uneasiness of the couple in the car as the artist had originally intended it, with much emphasis to the wide framing of each character's facial expressions. Three major visual topics that are expressed in my framing of Lichtenstein’s image are line/shape, shot type and visual movement/rhythm as well as contrast/affinity and text/subtext.

Lichtenstein’s original and my re-imagined image both contain elements of both actual and virtual line/shape. Actual lines are seen on top of and next to the figures that represent the wind blowing as the car zooms into the distance. There are also facial lines on the man and the woman, a common detailing of many comic and pop artists, in order to physically exaggerate the emotions in which the characters are experiencing. The menacing gaze of the man and the disgusted direction in which the woman is staring depicts virtual line. This use of line works well in the piece because it emphasizes the emotional strain of the relationship. After framing the photo, most of the lines that outlined the car disappeared. This affects the photo because the lack of lines makes it harder for the viewer to realize that the scene is taking place inside of a vehicle. I purposely cropped the lines out because I did not think that the location of the scene was relevant to the emotion that it conveys. As for the use of shape, the man has a square jaw and face which symbolizes that he has the power over the woman while the woman has a round, innocent looking facial structure, proving that she falls victim to the driver.

The shot type of the original is an OTS 2S (over the shoulder two shot) while my manipulated photo is mainly a 2S WS (two shot wide shot). The contrast in each shot type is that the initial photo is focused on both the location and the situation in which the event is taking place, whereas the framed copy has an enhanced and clear focus on the individual’s body language. Affinity in this work is reflected through the unchanged focus of the man’s powerful gaze upon the woman that is present in both versions. In essence, the text of this photo is that there is a couple driving in a speeding car. The subtext, however, is that the car ride is far from the ordinary; the pain that each individual is feeling relates to the realization that this is a highly uncomfortable situation.

Lastly, visual movement and rhythm is not only depicted through the use of lines to indicate speed but also through the way in which the viewer’s eye is immediately guided to diagonally towards the man’s face. This makes his gaze seem inescapable and intimidating, making us feel as though we are the woman in the piece.

Through the use of these elements above the viewer is able to establish a sense of how framing is important in understanding the overall meaning and feel of any form of art.