Annotated Bibliography #3 De Carava

In the picture, I see a girl in a desolate place. The place looks messy. I see a lot of trash on the ground. I wonder if the place used to be in the process of development and stopped, and now it is not cared. She is wearing a white dress, perhaps, a wedding dress? She is wearing a crown as well. She looks like a princess. It is interesting that there is a word written on the wall in the background of the picture, PRINCE. Is she looking for her prince in this isolated place? Maybe De Carava is trying to depict desolate life of black, and their effort to find a hope, prince. 
The style of the picture, black and white, embraces the artistic mood in the way make the photo more serious. 
I see the back side of the girl bright, and where opposite side, where she is looking or headed, is dark. Does it give the interpretation of her dark, hopeless future?

The title of this photograph is Graduation. According to Kennedy, the girl is in a pristine graduation dress. Roy DeCarava, Harlem, and the Psychic Self analyzes this photo as a girl who ignores all the hopeless surroundings but pays attention on the billboard of Chevrolet  new model. The author interprets her formal attire as a "triumph over the desolation around her" (141). 

As the author discusses about "point of view" and "style" by Kouwenhoven in Roy DeCarava, Harlem, and the Psychic Self chapter four, we can use this photograph by DeCarava as an example. DeCarava uses a style of black and white. Then there is a dark shadow on the right side of the photo from the audience position, and a bright side on the left. The girl in the photo seems to be walking towards the dark shadow. It is possible for a person to take this scene as "'tragedy,' or that she will not overcome the wretchedness of her environment" (141). It all depends on the point of view. According to the article, "the ambiguity created between the girl and the shadows encourages a metaphoric as opposed to literal reading of DeCarava's photograph" (141).

Reading the article Roy DeCarava, Harlem, and the Psychic Self,  I wanted to chose a picture that fits DeCarava's concern, "'literalness,' or... 'real,'" and a content that is not only the subject matter of "a documentary value" but that explores "concepts of race and self-including childhood memories, fears, and desires..." (132). 

This photo cause various interpretation such as a brave, strong girl walking alone the hardship of life focusing on the challenge and hope or a girl considering giving up the life and falling into the darkness. I cannot tell whether the girl is hopeful or hopeless regardless the surroundings. I agree with Kennedy's statement, "Mr. DeCarava...came to be regarded as the founder of a school of African-American photography that broke with the social documentary traditions of his time". In deed, DeCarava has succeeded in taking the realness that would reveal the race and self in his photo. This photo does not just record the moment as a documentary photograph, but it tells something about the city, black life, and the society. 



Kennedy, Randy. "Roy DeCarava, Harlem Insider Who Photographed Ordinary Life, Dies at 89." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2009. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.