Art History Critique of Museum Piece
In “Willy Covari (Brazzaville)” photographer Daniele Tamagni shows a very interesting character in the streets on Brazzaville, the capitol city of the Republic of the Congo. Tamagni created a series of images all depicting men in Brazzaville who dress up in eccentric clothes that contrast the grey poverty stricken world they live in. The photo itself is very aesthetically pleasing. The photo shows a crowded street, with decrepit buildings and people in regular every day attire. The man who is the subject of the photo however, is dressed in a Flamingo-Pink Suit, matching shoes, and a red cap. He has a certain pompous walk to him, with his fresh clothes and his thick cigar. He is part of a group of men known as Sapeurs, who dress like kings but live in poverty. Their story mimics the picture itself, which is a comparison of excessive wealth and devastating poverty. The Piece is a work of Color Film Photography, and it was made in 1975. From a photographer’s point of view, the piece is executed well. The artist uses line to direct your point of view from the foreground to the background. In photography, diagonal lines can be used to guide your eyes from one element in the piece to another. In this work, you first notice the character dressed in pink, but then the lines bring your focus to the man’s surroundings. You notice the background and how it’s shockingly bland when compared to the man himself. Color is used excellently as well in the image. The pink in the suit stands out, of course. But the color is repeated throughout the image in other people’s clothes. Once behind the man to his right, and once again father back to the left. It creates a nice triangular shape with people dressed in pink catching your eye. The other colors in the image, predominantly warm greys, bring out the pink highlights even more. I mentioned contrast earlier in this paper, but it is the main artistic element I believe, so I will dive in a bit further. The man, “Willy Covari” I