An Attempt To Exhaust a Place In Lincoln
Inspired by George Perec and his ‘An Attempt at exhausting a place in Paris’, I was tasked to observe and analyse my surroundings in Minerva building, a place in Lincoln. Predominantly the idea was to explore deeper beyond the subconscious banality that we perceive as normal for everyday people in their everyday lives. As I sat on the ground floor of the Minerva building by the window for 25 minutes, I was overlooking the cafeteria, whilst having a clear view of events on the other floors. There were many different types of people all there for similar and different reasons. Some quietly completing independent work, some just taking a break on their phones with a coffee from Quad Cafe. A common theme I was able to observe was the idea of collaboration. Everywhere people seemed to be collaborating, whether it was with peer groups working towards assignments, engaged in devices independently, talking about deadlines with friends or Quad Cafe staff working their shifts together. A group of three men across from me sat tightly around a table and a couple of laptops, leaning in closely, looking deeply engaged and focussed on their task at hand. During quieter moments on the ground floor you can hear the loud ‘whurling’ of the air conditioning unit, distinct chatter between people, some barely louder than whispers, some more carelessly shouting and talking. People of all ages are biding their time, middle aged/older people of age 50 and above, most likely academics are having meetings with colleagues, as well as younger teen and twenty-something students who are working profusely towards assignment deadlines. Through the window you can see the cathedral and the Brayford, with people walking by with headphones in, blocking out the outside world. There is a grand rush of people just before the hour turns, returning from their lectures. From my seat, four separate floors are visible, all with different situations and occurrences playing out. First floor is slightly less loud, avoiding the hustle and bustle of the ground floor, the second and third floors have students walking across the walkways, perhaps after seminars or private study sessions.
Image Analysis
I believe this photograph was taken within the last decade, predominantly due to the crispness and sharpness of the image, as well as the modern aesthetic and style to the room. The décor of the room mainly follows a colour scheme of creams and beiges, which is quite a modern style and relatively in-trend during recent years, from which I can infer that this image was taken in the not so distant past. The ornaments and the art on the shelving looks quite contemporary which further reinforces this.
From the style of the room I believe that this photo was taken in the USA. The shape of the room is unusual and stylistically looks quite American. The room is impeccably clean which suggests that this flat/house is a show property and isn’t currently inhabited.
The key visual elements in this photo are the two shirtless teenage boys both wearing boxing gloves, with one wearing boxing shorts and one wearing normal, casual shorts. They don’t appear to look tired or sweaty, suggesting they are perhaps holding these poses, being directed by the photographer and are not actually engaged in Boxing. The boys look a similar age and are very similar looking which suggests that perhaps they are brothers or possibly even twin brothers. The opposite-facing cream sofas are another key visual element. They add an element of symmetry to the photo and, tied with the cleanliness and décor of the room, results in a very visually enticing and aesthetically pleasing image. The shelving unit and ornaments in the background are also key visual elements because the ornaments are all carefully placed and arranged.
The human subjects in this photograph are not really engaging with the camera or the photographer at all, the boys both have an indirect mode of address and seem to be very focussed and fixated on each other, like they would be if they were actually Boxing. Their physical statures and facial expressions suggest they aren’t aware of the camera however, this photograph as a whole looks very staged so clearly the human subjects would have been aware.
I believe the photographer would have directed the subjects of the photograph to looked engaged in one-another, to look focussed and like they’re in combat. They are standing in quite a random space in the room, which doesn’t seem to be particularly significant, however it contributes to an interesting composition as they are positioned off-centre in the frame, it is most likely the photographer would have directed them to stand in those positions.
The boys are fighting in quite an upper class-looking house, which makes me think perhaps the photographer is trying to symbolise fighting capitalism and perhaps is trying to promote the sharing of wealth. Boxing began from the working classes, so by the subjects engaging in boxing in this setting, the photographer may be trying to portray an economic and political message either about boxing being a sport for all socio economic groups and classes, or that we should perhaps rebel against the capitalist society.
Leave a comment