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November 06, 2005
Postcard Analysis
My Annie Leibovitz photograph is of Gwyneth Paltrow and her actress mother, Blythe Danner.
Studium: Gwyneth is sitting in front of her mother, both are sitting side on to the camera with their faces turned towards it. Blythe is looking directly into the camera while Gwyneth's gaze is averted downward. Gwyneth is wearing an off-white sleeveless dress, the strap is off her shoulder closest to the camera. Blythe is wearing a black polar neck with long sleeves and both her arms are around Gwyneth's waist with her hands closed over her own wrists. Gwyneth's hands are loosely held - one against her mother's and the other lying open in her lap. Both women have their hair swept back. Their bodies and heads are touching, relaxed against one another. The background is flat and neutral, textured only by the shadow of the soft, warm light in the photograph.
Punctum: I am struck by the way contrast and similarity between the elements in the photograph work together to convey mood and emotion.
Besides knowing that the two women are mother and daughter, I can infer it because their similar position, make-up and hairstyles highlight their similar facial features. From their proximity to one another I can again infer that they are very close family however they are not portrayed as being the same – their attire is very different, Gwyneth is dressed in white exposing a lot of skin, Blythe is dressed in black and showing almost none. They are opposite – two ends of a continuum – mother and daughter.
I think this photograph explores and portrays the mother-daughter bond. The closeness of their bodies, relaxed against one another speaks to me of this relationship. They know one another intimately and trust one another explicitly. Gwyneth is cushioned against Blythe, who dressed in black, seems more solid and secure. These are characteristics I would associate with my mother and mothers in general. Gwyneth is dressed in a color I would associate with youth and purity and the dress looks more frivolous than her mother’s. I get the sense from her dress and posture that Gwyneth is being plain, not standing on ceremony but just relaxing in the safety of her mother’s vigilance and care. She is not looking up and her face is completely relaxed and serene. She has not moved to put the sleeve of her dress back on her shoulder.
By contrast, Blythe looks out at the camera with her head held taking the weight of her daughter's. There is a faint awareness as she focuses on the camera but her stare is somehow blank; she is not responding as strongly to the camera as to Gwyneth whom she holds and so I’m left to feel that while acknowledged I am not part of the moment. There is also a sense of satisfaction in the slightly upturned corners of Blythe’s mouth, a sense in which she knows something or is something to the person she holds that no-one else could ever be.
~ Nanette
Posted by lcissavides at November 6, 2005 12:00 PM
Comments
I am fascinated by these two women....their voices, their faces....It is interesting in any mother daughter pair, but in them it seems particularly uncanny! Nice analysis...
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