Lee Miller

I enjoy this photograph by Lee Miller because it captures contradiction. This image is very beautiful and delicate, as well as bold. It is apparent that some sort of disaster or destruction has occured, telling by the dirt and rubble but the statue brings a peaceful quality, like she captured the calm of the aftermath. The statue looks very real and I think the way the dirt settled onto the statue gives it more depth and life than the typical pristince look of porcelain statues with perfectly white skin. The black line that disrupts the image is also intersting in that it occurs right at the head of the statue and it is very ambiguous. The line almost looks intentional and could be a symbol of separation. Maybe separation of mind from body or thought from action? Or it could just be debris...I also like the cropping of the image because it frames the statue like a portrait and gives it a more intimate quality. I think that if the shot was taken farther back the image would look more documentary and hold less weight. I also think the graininess and greyness of the image is important to the heavy feel of the photograph.