tschuetz Annotations

What kind of image is this? Is it a found image or created by the ethnographer (or a combination)? What is notable about its composition | scale of attention | aesthetic?

Sunday, March 1, 2020 - 7:05pm

The source of the image is not clear, but it might be a photograph taken by the ethnographer. It depicts a sheet of red paper, pasted onto a pole. The photo is taken in a way that the main text is visible, but the background is out of scope. Since it was likely taken at night, it made me imagine an active red light red-light district around (maybe it's just the red paper...). Or maybe there is nothing special around, because it's a prostitution free zone. Either way, the image has a certain allure, forcing the viewer to imagine what the surroundings look like.

The rather sharp flash that illuminates the sheet, together with the authoritative tone of the rules reminded me of a police interrogation, or a stop and frisk of a subject during the night, where officers purposefully blind and irritate their subject with flashlights for intimidation. There might be more room to play with that effect in your image.

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