Broken

1.       In the photograph titled “A Young Woman Between Carrolburg Place and Half Street”, I see an African American woman who appears to be between the ages of 15-17 standing in a deserted alleyway. She’s wearing a rib knit tank dress with no bra and a sort of sandal shoe. Behind her is a large tree, to her right is a broken down chain link fence and to her left, there is a very tall wood plank fence.

2.       By including the poverty stricken background in this image it gives us the tools the audience needs in order to figure out who the female in the picture is. If she was in front of a giant mansion we would only assume that she lived there and that was her house, but since she is in front of a dilapidated surrounding, we can only assume that this is her community and environment. What she’s wearing and how she presents herself are also other indicators of who this woman is. The story behind why she isn’t wearing a bra might simply be the fact that she can’t afford one or that she has to choose between undergarments or actual clothing, which in the end actual clothing that you can wear in public becomes more important. The cobblestone ground that she is standing on also gives us the sense that where she is from is not a new place but is quite old, which adds to that lower middle class aura around this photo.

3.       From what I can see, Dewoud Bey, centers his work on the African American culture and people. Each picture addressing a different issue or concern relating back to community. This work in particular is to display how poverty has affected the girl in the pictures life.

Yes, this work is good. When I say good, I mean the image effectively portrays the mood and tone that the audience receives when studying this image.