Image Essay #4

This is another work by Armin Mersmann. I chose this work because I just love the theme. He said his main inspirations for this work were the Holocaust and the current events happening in Iraq. I like how he uses the crow and skulls as a sort of main tool in communicating the overall message of the piece. They’re very simple and obvious objects used to symbolize death but they aren’t overpowering and don’t make the whole picture seem cliché. Also I like how the eye on the left is looking the viewer right in the face in a sort of accusatory way and gives the viewer a feeling of guilt, and how conversely the eye on the right is looking off in the distance as if hopeful for better things to come. The roots however, baffle me. I just can’t seem to figure out their meaning and how they contribute to the message, but even though I don’t know the reason behind them I like how they look and that they help to draw my eyes into this piece and keep me looking at it. I chose to examine this piece because of the way he used different line types and ways of shading and such to turn a regular pencil and paper drawing into something as detailed as a photograph. Also I like that this picture has depth to it due to the perspective used on tops of the roots moving off into the distance.