Peshawar, Pakistan 1980

Editor: Here we have Ed Grazda's 1980 photograph, "Peshawar, Pakistan." It's a striking black and white image, and my first impression is the powerful depth created by the alleyway perspective. It draws the eye right in! What catches your attention? Curator: The spatial relationships are certainly compelling. Consider the contrast of light and shadow, dissecting the picture plane. The high-key illumination further emphasizes the receding orthogonal lines established by the buildings, thereby creating not only depth, as you noted, but a palpable sense of enclosure. Note, too, the layering created by the children and their placements that segment the plane. The closest boy bisects the frame and seems to disrupt the planar flow. Is there a feeling that results? Editor: I feel almost caught off guard. He's making direct eye contact, breaking that fourth wall. It also disrupts the sense of being an objective observer. Curator: Precisely! This disruption brings to mind semiotic approaches that help to question photography's ability to create the "truthful gaze." And how do you read the texture in the image, created by the weathered buildings and grainy tonal gradations? Editor: There’s definitely a sense of grit and reality, rather than any romanticism or beautification. I also can’t ignore that the lighting seems staged or enhanced. I wonder what Grazda did to amplify that effect? Curator: Notice the sharp contrast against the grain. These aesthetic components serve a particular function in activating the affect you experienced upon first encounter with the image. I wonder how different your feelings would be if, hypothetically, the texture were diminished by the employment of filters? Editor: I hadn't thought about that, but that subtle "grit" contributes so much to the photograph. Analyzing these components changes everything! Curator: It demonstrates the potential inherent in engaging in close looking with the employment of diverse strategies of critical inquiry.