PICTURE ANALYSIS

The image that I chose from the collection was one taken in Minneapolis, MN 2004. The photograph depicts either a very androgynous old woman or a man cross dressing while sitting alone in a McDonalds. Her head is cocked to the side as she looks up from her spot at her otherwise vacant 4-person table suggesting what appears to be loneliness or curiosity. Behind her is a man filling up his drink at the soda machine, but he is the only other person captured in the photo. The colors in the picture strike me a lot too. There is a bright teal in the chairs of the table, the woman is wearing a royal blue top, jacket and hairpiece with matching purse, black nylons and dark shoes while the countertop of the soda machine is electric yellow.

My attraction to the image has to do with my love of extraordinary things in ordinary places. I like that this woman has put obvious care into what she has on yet is eating alone at McDonalds (Such a common establishment). I feel like it is a depiction of loneliness and a longing for something more than what you have. This would make sense, also, if the person depicted was actually a man. I believe that the photography utilizes the average and commonplace qualities of McDonalds as a backdrop to let something more magnificent or abnormal standout. It, for me, is a representation of feeling out of place.