Essay #6

Marian Acee

English 101

Adam Weinstein

09 December 2007


When visiting the SynArt exhibit in Wood’s Art Gallery, Jenny Fine’s ingenious photographs stole my attention from all the other exhibits. Jenny used her photographic point of view to present five photographs of two sisters that tell a story throughout their lifetime. In observing Jenny Fine’s photographs, I learned a whole new meaning to stories in photography. These five black and white photographs, individually, tell a different story that the viewer almost has to figure out for themselves.


The five photographs appear to be very old. They are each black and white with individual pieces of the photos faded and unclear. The first photograph presents two young girls, who are obviously sisters. The photograph does not show either of their faces, but the girls from mid-chest and down. When looking at the photograph, you interpret that one girl is either dark minded or not as happy as the other because of her attire. The sister to the right is wearing a grayish colored dress which is very simply made, with black simple strapped shoes. The girl on the left is wearing a white, cream colored dress with a shear chiffon type material at the bottom with cream colored nicely strapped shoes. Each girl has their hands folded in front of them with their fingers interlocked. The girl on the right has her left thumb tucked tightly under her right thumb, while the girl on the left has her right thumb tightly tucked under her left thumb. They are standing in front of an older white house, which is more than likely the house they have grown up in.


In the second photograph, the young girl dressed in the white dress is standing outside. The background is dark and barely leaves any room for imagination. The girl is bending over, with her arms hanging down in front of her. Her head is turned to her right and her eyes are gazing off in the distance as if she has something heavy on her mind. She does not appear to be looking at anything; it is almost a blank stare. She is standing on a rocky, muddy surface in front of what looks like a concrete wall. On the left side of the wall, there is a certain fabric hanging from the top in which appears to be a thin sheet of lace.


In the third picture, it is an early, bright Sunday afternoon. There is a young girl in a yard with her hands above her head from jumping up and down. Her feet are slightly off the ground and her dress is being blown up, showing her undergarments and covering her face. She looks to be celebrating or playing. The other sister could very well be playing with her and just was not captured in the photograph. The other sister also may be the individual who captured this photograph. In the yard, behind her, is a large field with a large tree directly behind her to the left and shrubbery to the right of her. There is an old swing set in between the large tree and the shrubbery. This must be the girl’s back yard of their home. The young girl’s dress is white and she is wearing white flat shoes. Although the colors are the same as the girl in the other photos, it is not known which girl this is. Her dress and shoes are completely different from the other photographs.


The fourth photograph is very dark and difficult to understand. There is a girl in a white dress running in a very dark, eerie field. Only the bottom half of the young girl is shown and her activity causes her to be very blurry. It looks like she is running to escape something. The whole scene is very dark and depressing as if something terrible is soon to come. Although the future is unknown, the scene somewhat foreshadows death.


In the fifth and final photograph, there are two older women standing side by side. Their faces are not seen once again and it only shows them from mid chest down. They are wearing long black dresses with quarter length sleeves. The scene is very gloomy like someone has passed away. They are standing in an open field with large dead trees behind them. When looking at the picture you can tell tragedy has happened.


The first and last photographs are alike, yet very different. In both photos there are two girls who are sisters standing side by side. In each photo, they both have their hands folded in front of them and their faces are unseen. Taking a deeper look, you begin to see the differences. In the first photo, the two sisters, individually, have their hands in front of them with their fingers interlocked. This somewhat signifies that they have each other and that at that moment, if they needed it, they would have someone right beside them to fill the spaces in between their fingers. They both know the other one will always be there and they find comfort in that. Even if they do share differences, they are one in the same. In the last photo, however, both sisters have their hands laying in front of them, but with one hand cupped in the other. Taking a look closer, the photo reveals that what looks like two separate girls, is really one. Using the line of symmetry, if you were to fold the photo directly in the middle, left to right, right to left, it is the exact same girl. The girl’s hand signifies that one sister has passed away. There is no longer anyone to fill the spaces in between her fingers, so she cups them. The woman is obviously mourning the death of her sister, considering her attire. Just like the beginning photo, the girls will always be together and the woman who is gone lives on in her sister forever. This is why the one woman, appears to be two.


In conclusion, Jenny Fine was very successful in producing stories throughout her photographs. I chose her photographs because of my reaction towards them in the beginning. At first glance, it is hard to comprehend what she is trying to get across in her photos, but taking a deeper look, you begin to see what she is trying to communicate to the viewer. Maybe she chose these photos because they related to her in some way, or maybe she just enjoys art. Either way, she did an excellent job of presenting art to students and proves that art is not just a brush away. Most of the time art is portrayed as something that needs a brush, such as a painting. Photography is not recognized as much. Jenny proves that photography can tell an amazing story or really capture someone’s attention, sometimes more than a painting will. Like the saying “a picture says a thousand words”, this is exactly what her photographs did. I highly recommend, to every student, to visit Woods Art Gallery to view her presentation.