Compositional Analysis

Assignment Prompt

 

First Draft

Sheila Sullivan

15 September 2019

The Will of the Medic

 

“ A Medic Calm and Dedicated”

Henri Huet, February 1966

 

The power of Huet’s “ A Medic Calm and Dedicated”(1966), speaks to the hardships and struggles faced by soldiers during the Vietnam War. The way Huet uses vectors of attention, lighting, cropping, and proximity in his photograph, come together to convey the harsh and brutal realities of war.

 

When looking at this photography by Huet, your eyes are stuck! They may be stuck on the soldier lying on the ground, or the medic sitting upright, or maybe the skyline in the background. There are many points of attention your eyes can be glued to. The lines of the trees are all straight down, they either end where the trench is, or the outline of the medic’s head. The medic seems to be possibly be the center or main focus of the photograph. All the lines from the roots of the dirt trench or dugout, seem to lead directly to the medic. Even the gun lying diagonally on the dirt, is pointing at the medic. The lines on the neck of the medic, also can maybe hint to the fact he is the focus. Huet, is maybe trying to convince us to look at the medic and really stare at him. Huet maybe wants us to understand the medic, or feel his pain.

 

Huet is extremely clever in the way he takes this photograph. Huet plays with the light and dark so well; it is hard not to notice the obvious contrast in perspective. The darkness in the photograph can cause the viewer to have a negative outlook on things. On the contrary, the light in the photograph has the completely opposite effect. Huet knew both perspectives were needed in the photograph in order to have a balance. A balance of light and dark, good and bad, and one view versus another view. A viewer who sees the light more clearly, will most likely have a positive outlook on this photograph. The darkness in the photograph consists of the uniforms, the dirt and rubble on the ground, and the shadows cast on the two men. The darkness creates a feeling of devastation; you see these two men who look like they could potentially be on their deathbeds, it is deeply disturbing. While looking at this, the audience can feel knots in their stomach, tears can be brought to the eyes of all those who can truly see the pain of the soldiers. Both the soldiers, especially the one lying on the ground, are suffering and fighting to stay alive with every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears in their body. On the other hand, when you allow the light to overcome the photograph, there is an overwhelming amount of hope. We see the insanely challenging obstacles these men face, but we can also see their ability to overcome obstacles. These soldiers are tough warriors who never give up. They are hopeful and inspired by each other’s strength to look past agony, and see the future. 

 

If you look really closely at this photograph, you can see the two soldiers are not completely in it. The elbow of the medic is cropped out, we can only see his shoulder to his hand. Most of the soldier lying on the grounds body is not in the picture. All we can see is the upper part of his body. Only his head, shoulders, and hand make the cut. Did Huet do this on purpose? Whatever happened to the rest of the man’s body is up to the imagination of the audience. Huet is forcing us to come up with all different kinds of alternate theories. Are his legs broken, was the lower part of his body blown off? Or, did Huet simply not put all of the soldier in the picture?

 

The photograph is a closeup, Huet is extremely close to the soldiers. You can only see some of the background, because the proximity of the photographer to the two soldiers, is possibly only a few feet apart, as a result of the closeness, you can see the look of defeat mixed with the look of pure and utter motivation. Huet maybe wants us to look at these soldiers, these heroes, and be humbled and undeniably grateful. He really wants us to see all the damage and destruction caused by war. It conveys the death, injuries, and all the blood left on the battlefield. Huet is showing us the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of war. Is he trying to make a statement, what could Huet want the audience to be curious about? Huet possibly wants us to look at the man on the ground, the soldier could be drinking something, or perhaps even trying to say something. Maybe Huet wants us to look at the medic, or more importantly the medics hand. The medic could possibly be pointing to something, maybe at an airplane, maybe Huet, or maybe even the audience? He could be reaching out to something or someone. Huet could be suggesting the medic may be trying to communicate with us. Is he reaching out for help? He helps the other soldier, but who helps him? Maybe we are supposed to? Does Huet mean to burden the people, does he want them to take responsibility for the war? By doing this with his photograph, Huet is breaking the fourth wall by allowing his picture to communicate with people.

 

A person can see what they want out of a photograph. Some may see the struggles and the toughness of the soldiers in the photograph. The photographer draws you in and wants you to explore the photograph. He wants you to see more than just with your eyes, but maybe even with your soul. Huet’s work suggest he wants us to discover all the ins and outs of the photograph. At first glance it can seem as ordinary as any other photograph, but when you look closer, the photographer leaves you thinking the soldiers are communicating with you or attempting to display an important message.

Reflection

Sheila Sullivan

 

I learned that conducting a compositional analysis is a hard task to accomplish. In order to analyze correctly, there are multiple steps that I had to complete. I had to analyze the image by looking at the proximity of the photograph, the lighting, cropping, breaking the fourth wall, and the vectors of attention. Before doing this process, I did not realize how much work goes into looking at a photograph. I did not understand the impact that lighting has on a photograph. Based on the lighting a viewer sees, the image can be interpreted in a positive or negative light. Also, the fact that cropping can lead the viewer to immense curiosity about the purpose of inclusion. The vectors of attention also helped point out to me that when photographs are centered on purpose, it is likely that they are the main focus. When analyzing breaking the fourth wall, it did not at first occur to me that an image can be reaching out to an audience. The most difficult aspect of writing the analysis was learning how to organize all my thoughts and information. I learned that my writing is sometimes confusing for the reader. I do this because it will make sense to me, but I do not always realize that my thoughts may be lost in translation to my writing. My favorite part of the compositional analysis was discovering all the new ways to really see and interpret a photograph. It is fascinating when you gather all the information and see how it is all conveyed and analyzes the big picture. The most important observational skill that I will carry with me onto future papers will be the vectors of attention. Using the vectors of attention is extremely useful, since it is similar to attempting to trace the photographers steps. It is almost as if you are figuring out what the photographer intended the viewer to really see.

 

Final Version

Sheila Sullivan

15 September 2019

The Will of the Medic

 

“ A Medic Calm and Dedicated”

Henri Huet, February 1966

The power of Huet’s “ A Medic Calm and Dedicated”(1966), speaks to the hardships and struggles faced by soldiers during the Vietnam War. The way Huet uses vectors of attention, lighting, cropping, and proximity in his photograph, come together to convey the harsh and brutal realities of war.

 

When looking at this photography, your eyes are stuck. They may be stuck on the soldier lying on the ground, or the medic sitting upright, or maybe the skyline in the background. Huet uses the vectors of attention to draw the viewer in. The lines of the trees are all straight down, they either end where the trench is, or the outline of the medic’s head. The medic seems to be the center or main focus of the photograph. All the lines from the roots of the dirt trench or dugout, seem to lead directly to the medic. Even the gun lying diagonally on the dirt, is pointing at the medic. The lines on the neck of the medic, also can maybe hint to the fact he is the focus. Huet, is maybe trying to convince us to look at the medic and really stare at him. Huet maybe wants us to understand the medic, or feel his pain.

 

        Huet plays with the light and dark; it is hard not to notice the obvious contrast in perspective. The darkness in the photograph can cause the viewer to have a negative outlook on things. On the contrary, the light in the photograph has the completely opposite effect. Huet knew both perspectives were needed in the photograph in order to have a balance. A balance of light and dark, good and bad, and one view versus another view. A viewer who sees the light more clearly, will most likely have a positive outlook on this photograph. The darkness in the photograph consists of the uniforms, the dirt and rubble on the ground, and the shadows cast on the two men. The darkness creates a feeling of devastation; you see these two men who look like they could potentially be on their deathbeds, it is deeply disturbing. He uses pathos to transform all your emotions into sadness and humility. The audience can feel knots in their stomach, tears can be brought to the eyes of all those who can truly see the pain of the soldiers. Both the soldiers, especially the one lying on the ground, are suffering and fighting to stay alive with every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears in their body. On the other hand, when you allow the light to overcome the photograph, there is an overwhelming amount of hope. We see the insanely challenging obstacles these men face, but we can also see their ability to overcome obstacles. These soldiers are tough warriors who never give up. They are hopeful and inspired by each other’s strength to look past agony, and see the future. 

 

If you look really closely at this photograph, you can see the two soldiers are not completely in it. The elbow of the medic is cropped out, we can only see his shoulder to his hand. Most of the soldier lying on the grounds body is not in the picture. All we can see is the upper part of his body. Only his head, shoulders, and hand make the cut. Did Huet do this on purpose? Whatever happened to the rest of the man’s body is up to the imagination of the audience. Huet is forcing us to come up with all different kinds of alternate theories. Are his legs broken, was the lower part of his body blown off? The effect of cropping that Huet uses sparks the viewer’s curiosity about the photograph

 

Huet is extremely close to the soldiers. You can only see some of the background, because the proximity of the photographer to the two soldiers, is possibly only a few feet, as a result of the closeness, you can see the look of defeat mixed with the look of pure and utter motivation. Huet maybe wants us to look at these soldiers, these heroes, and be humbled and undeniably grateful. He really wants us to see all the damage and destruction caused by war. It conveys the death, injuries, and all the blood left on the battlefield. Huet is showing us the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of war. Is he trying to make a statement, what could Huet want the audience to be curious about? Huet possibly wants us to look at the man on the ground, the soldier could be drinking something, or perhaps even trying to say something. Maybe Huet wants us to look at the medic, or more importantly the medic’s hand. The medic could possibly be pointing to something, maybe at an airplane, maybe Huet, or maybe even the audience? He could be reaching out to something or someone. Huet could be suggesting the medic may be trying to communicate with us. Is he reaching out for help? He helps the other soldier, but who helps him? Maybe we are supposed to? Does Huet mean to burden the people, does he want them to take responsibility for the war? By doing this with his photograph, Huet is breaking the fourth wall by allowing his picture to communicate with people.

 

 The photographer draws you in and wants you to explore the photograph. He wants you to see more than just with your eyes, but maybe even with your soul. Huet’s work suggests he wants us to discover all the ins and outs of the photograph. At first glance it can seem as ordinary as any other photograph, but when you look closer, the photographer leaves you thinking the soldiers are communicating with you or attempting to display an important message.