Ralph Gibson

 Ralph Gibson is known for his black and white images that capture simple things but with a surreal twist. He focuses on using light to make the images almost seem dreamlike or things we see in our dreams. He wanted to challenge people's minds by leaving it up to the audience's interpretation of the works. His works can be mysterious and that is the main point. While looking through some of his work I noticed a pattern, there is typically a very dark area, then a grayish part, and finally a lighter side. Almost if he was imitating a silhouette but at the same time keeping the person in the frame. 

I really enjoyed the way he used shadows and patterns added into the image as well. He mostly photographed people, I guess he was interested in people's bodies and wanted to capture the essence of someones figure. Why did he make the bodies seem abstract? Maybe he wanted to make dreams come into a reality by the way he took his images. Things we might see in our dreams or things or things that are not real. How would they look when brought to life in photos? This is a very interesting approach to things we see in our daily lives, or the way we look at people. 

Baby's hand and Guitar (1960-1961)

(https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ralph-gibson-babys-hand-and-guitar)

This was one of my favorite images out of his collection because it seems a bit eerie. The baby's hand doesn't look like a baby's hand but that of another creature. The angle of the photo makes it seem like the baby is sticking its hand from a void rather than the basket. I also just assumed that the man, perhaps the dad of the child, was playing a song for the baby to put it to sleep or just to keep the baby entertained. The thought was just wholesome, I wonder what song he was playing. 

Works Cited: 

- “Ralph Gibson.” International Photography Hall of Fame, iphf.org/inductees/ralph-gibson/.

- “Ralph Gibson: Baby's Hand and Guitar (1960-1961).” Artsy, www.artsy.net/artwork/ralph-gibson-babys-hand-and-guitar.