Kaitlyn Bavuso annotated bib #6

Observation: 

There is a woman and a man sitting at kitchen table. The woman is looking off to her left, with her hand covering her mouth. The man is facing towards her, but his side profile is facing towards the camera.The man is holding a cigarette to his mouth and looking directly at the woman. They are playing cards and having a couple of drinks and the room is filled with smoke from the cigarette .On the wall behind the woman is photographs of important African American figures. This photograph is in black and white.

Inference: 
The Kitchen Table series, demonstrates the lives of African American family’s all centered around a kitchen table. This photograph shows a man and woman relaxing at the kitchen table enjoy a drink and cigarette while playing a game of cards. What is interesting is how both the man and woman are posed, the woman is sitting at the head of the table, and the man is sitting off to the right. This could represent Weem’s feminist approach to gender inequality.What is also striking is how they both look at each other. They both have their hands raised to their mouths which could represent secrecy in their relationship or their attitudes towards certain subjects. The woman’s glare towards the man suggests their must have been some sort of argument or rude remark made as she responds negatively through her eyes. The background is key in understanding the subtle message that is being represented in the photograph.In the article, Beauty, Politics, and the Poetic Vision, the discussion of the Kitchen Table series, situates a woman in different contexts, such as culturally, and historically. In this particular photograph it addresses a political implication. Directly behind the woman is a large portrait of the infamous Malcolm X. This portrait suggests her political influence towards the African American community. Weem comments through her corresponding texts, that the woman is very outspoken and has many opinions concerning the political spectrum of the African American community. When she is holding the hand to her mouth it could also represent how she should remain quiet about her opinions, as he is not too keen on her blunt attitudes.  The way the smoke is illuminated by the hanging pendant, makes the audience focus to the direction of the photographs. The smoke is clouding around with the portrait of Malcolm X, forces the audience to look directly at the photograph, thus relaying a hidden political stance.