Google Reader Response #7

This week I wanted to discuss the Urbanautica blog post about the series Animal Portraits by Dwi Putra Sepiyana. Formally these photographs are very simple. The artist photographed different animals looking directly into the camera lens with a plain white background. I couldn’t help but think of passport photographs and the desire to create an objective photograph of the sitter. By referencing this common photographic type used by humans and taking these animals outside of their natural habitat, the viewers is forced to interact with the animals in a different way. Perhaps the viewer notices different physical features or makes connections with human characteristics. The artist points out that the viewer responds differently to gecko, which appears to be smiling, to the toad, which looks grumpy. However, the gecko pulls this facial expression before it bites down on its food. The artist brings the viewers attention to both the similarities and the differences that we share with the animal kingdom by placing them in this objective space. The viewer is asked to reevaluate their assumptions about these animals and question what we can really learn from an external expression.