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Genders

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Honestly, I had no gut reaction to it. Of course I have no sense of art, so... :-) What did you get from it?
---PW
 
Hi Robert

Man your always Thinking! Actually a lot of varied thoughts came to mind when first viewing this thought provoking shot. To many to go thru them all, so I will say briefly one of the strongest. I'm probably way off base, as for as your thoughts but here goes. The titles above while obviousy are restroom related have little or nothing to do with the story for me. It has to do with how we think, perceptualize, stereotype, interact and ect. with other humans. It seems that with a head to toe covering we can still see thru most and fit them into our preconceived thought patterns and classifictions.
You've Got Style Robert. Keep up the good work.: Will Walton
 
Robert Conn2 said:


All comments welcome.
Please tell me your thoughts on this one. What does it mean to you?
--
~ Robert
http://www.pbase.com/robertconn
Click to expand...
Yes, always thinking...

The composition is good and very striking as is the B&W meduim used. But as your title suggests there would be more gender issues "discussed" or confronted in the image: ie- 2 women, 2 men, or an obvious woman and man under opposite signs. Instead you have 2 non-gendered figuers. This is ok - but the fact that they are clothed and simply hidden by scarves makes it a little difficult to take. The choice of clothing is a bit bothersome to me. The Adidas logo and striped scarf... They are a bit distracting from your original idea.

I'm not sure axactly, that is just my gut reaction. I think this has alot of great potential and should be restudied. Great work Robert.--Regards,Joe H.---------------------------------------www.biggerboatstudios.com
 
Hi Robert,

Well.......I had a rather horrific reaction in terms of "message". For me, it's about how we sort and categorize people, each to his/her own proper stereotype and compartment, without bothering to learn the true identities of individuals. The figures in the photo are merely icons of maleness and femaleness.....you can know from appearance nothing deeper about them. Everything truly revealing and personalizing (face, eyes, etc.) is cloaked......but we still sort them into the starkly defined female compartment and male compartment.

Maybe I'm just in a cynical mood.....

Anyway, thanks as always for an excellent and provocative image.

Best wishes,

David-- http://www.mongoosephoto.com
 
Thank you everyone who took the time to view the image and post a response. It's rather sad that the more thought provoking an image, the fewer responses I get but oh well. Here are my thoughts on the image.

The way this shot came about was quite sudden. The two subjects are my brother and his girlfriend. I invited them to join me this morning for my shoot. The place is a local park. Shortly after arriving we walked past these rest rooms. We walked past roughly in the positions of this shot, I was near the camera position and they by their respective doors. My brother's girlfriend's choice of clothing made them almost interchangable. The thought entered my head, the image followed. Here are my thoughts on this image...What defines our gender roles? Is it the clothes we wear? Is it our body types? Or is it the doors we walk through? These lines that were once so clear become more blurred all the time.

It was very interesting to read the interpretations of those that chose to share them. I very much enjoyed each of your comments. This is the aspect of photography I find the most inline with what is considered by most as art. Using the medium as a vehicle of communication and expression. And also as exploration. I love taking portraits, I love taking fine art still lifes and landscapes. But I think I get the most out of this type of work as an artist. A portrait can touch your heart. A landscape can touch your soul. But art can touch your mind. Thank you for sharing and exploring with me. BTW, you were all correct in your interpretations. The meaning of any piece of art is the meaning it has to you, and not just that of the artist who created it. --~ Robertwww.pbase.com/robertconn
 
I'm replying first, then I'll read your response. I'm sorry too that you didn't get more responses. I'm not sure mine is an educated, mature one, but here it is. I see what represents a society of people who are split. There is no communication. There they stand at attention just moments before having to go to work in order to stay alive another day. Burden of living.
Gregg

PS I really never liked photos that were composed by contriving a situation. Boy, did this ever change my view on that. Now I want to try it. Unfortunately, I think it takes skill to do what you've done.Thanks.
Joe Hoddinott said:
Robert Conn2 said:


All comments welcome.
Please tell me your thoughts on this one. What does it mean to you?
--
~ Robert
http://www.pbase.com/robertconn
Click to expand...
Yes, always thinking...
The composition is good and very striking as is the B&W meduim
used. But as your title suggests there would be more gender issues
"discussed" or confronted in the image: ie- 2 women, 2 men, or an
obvious woman and man under opposite signs. Instead you have 2
non-gendered figuers. This is ok - but the fact that they are
clothed and simply hidden by scarves makes it a little difficult to
take. The choice of clothing is a bit bothersome to me. The
Adidas logo and striped scarf... They are a bit distracting from
your original idea.

I'm not sure axactly, that is just my gut reaction. I think this
has alot of great potential and should be restudied. Great work
Robert.
--
Regards,
Joe H.

---------------------------------------
http://www.biggerboatstudios.com
Click to expand...
 
Beth wrote:

Robert, I just found this one, so was unable to post before reading your interpretation. My comments would be, the words "Men" and "Women" carry all kinds of connotations. All kinds of images come to mind. Your androgonous 'models' leave me with a "make up your own mind" kind of message. I think rather than the differences being blurred, we have come to a time when women have many more choices than they had when I was young. I suppose that sometimes the result is a blurring, but not always.

Thanks for sharing this thought-provoking image!
Brian Mackey said:
Robert Conn2 said:


All comments welcome.
Please tell me your thoughts on this one. What does it mean to you?
--
~ Robert
http://www.pbase.com/robertconn
Click to expand...
--
http://members.home.net/mackey135/njdigitalservices.htm
'I have discovered digital photography' Livin life at 5 megapixels!
Click to expand...
--Olympus E-10 (Still tilting at windmills...foolish me!)Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/galleries/cokids
 
I got a strong feeling of sadness looking at this, I don't really know why. The doors of the restrooms look like prison bars. My thoughts were something like: we try to break barriers but when it comes right down to it, we will always be placed behind stereotypes.....locked in? That you can blur the differences between men and women in society by trying to have one look like the other (the same style of clothing here) and having each deny those differences in order to win some sort of approval by society. All in all it created a very sad, "resigned" feeling. But obviously your photo is very successful in that it produced these strong feelings. K.
 
koo22 said:
The doors of the restrooms look like prison bars.
Click to expand...
That's exactly how I felt about the bars as well. I think they are an important part of the image. If the doors would have been open I would have had them pose from inside the bars. That is kind of the final message of the image. Thanks for posting.--~ Robertwww.pbase.com/robertconn
 
I don't know Brian. That really sux! I know Pbase has a lot of little short problems throughout the day but it seems to hit you more than others. Can you see the new shots on my website directly?--~ Robertwww.pbase.com/robertconn
 
Don't have time to be too pedantic, but...

To me it seems that your gender-neutral figures are locked out of the world where they had definition before (signified by the bars over the doors) They are locked in their androgyny and cannot return.

As a footnote, I'm not particularly fond of this one...though I am usually more than impressed by your work. Additionaly, I like when you post these though-provoking questions. They don't pander to the majority, so you don't get tons of responces; that can't really be helped, however.

Take care,

F.J.
Robert Conn2 said:


All comments welcome.
Please tell me your thoughts on this one. What does it mean to you?
--
~ Robert
http://www.pbase.com/robertconn
Click to expand...
--Frank--------------------------Be Well, Take Pictures, Enjoy Life!
 
Robert Conn2 said:


All comments welcome.
Please tell me your thoughts on this one. What does it mean to you?
--
~ Robert
http://www.pbase.com/robertconn
Click to expand...
If you are attempting to say there is no (or little) difference in the genders ... then you totally missed the point. The woman under the "women" sign and the man under the "men" sign are still very clearly and man and a woman ... even under all those clothes. I always admire your talent, Robert ... but this one missed the mark. Cheers ... :-)
 
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