This is a photo of a rhythmic gymnast in Havana, Cuba in 1999. Modelled after a photo of a New York model, she is posing in the streets of her city. Iooss claims that they had to keep shooting in order to get the hoop in the “middle of the space.” Iooss also claims that “there's no time limit with kids, not like shooting Tiger Woods,” which gives the connotation that children and their crafts don't deserve respect. They’re all just knock-off ‘Tiger Woods’es.
My first impression of this photo was that the black and white makes it look classic, and that she is a gymnast of some sort. I quickly deduced that she was a rhythmic gymnast, and I immediately thought this to be a photo relating to the Olympics. One of the first things I noticed was the hoop in the light. The contrast between the hoop and the light, along with the shape of the hoop creates an image that naturally attracts attention. The photo is in a one-point perspective, which causes the viewers eye to travel back to that one point every time. The gymnast is positioned in front of that one point, which is why viewer's eyes will go to her. That one point also causes viewers to want to see behind her, and to see what is in the distance along the street. The buildings on either side of the street serve to minimalize the gymnast in order to detract from all of the other ways that attention is being drawn to her, and they give a more modest feel to the photo.The light between the buildings on either side of the street also acts as somewhat of a funnel, which also brings my attention back to the gymnast. I like the gymnast's pose. It is very artistic and while it's not acrobatic or some flip in the air, I can still tell that it takes hard work and dedication to art to get a perfect pose like that. I also like how instead of her being in a gym, Iooss has taken her to an urban environment (Havana) to photograph her craft. The concrete jungle and hustle and bustle feel of the setting contrasts with the time consuming art of rhythmic gymnastics and the unyielding focus of the child. I don't really dislike anything about the photo, but it looks a little unnatural for there to be that few people or moving cars on the street. But maybe that's just how the city is on a regular day. In this setting, the child also provides an image to go with the saying "stop and smell the roses." In this photo, the girl is the rose, and the city should take time to notice a girl doing gymnastics in the middle of the street, a rare occurrence. I feel somewhat of a conflict about what the gymnast's being gives off. On one hand, I feel like she enjoys gymnastics so much that she's glad to do it anywhere. On the other hand, her pose looks so... Posed. She looks strained and while her pose is beautiful, it looks uncomfortable. Her pose genuinely gives the feeling that time is frozen and that Iooss has really captured a moment in time. But I wouldn't want to be frozen in time in that position. She looks to be just a child and Iooss' earlier quote (first paragraph) just makes the photo feel even more forced and gives off a "sweat shop" kind of feel. This beautiful photograph, like most photographs by Walter Iooss, slows down and freezes a fast paced sport. What makes this photograph interesting and leaves people wanting to know more is the setting of the photograph. The gymnast continues to stand out against the unusual background, whether it be because of her pose, the photo's perspective, or the light grasping her hoop and funneling down directly to her.
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