A man sits awkwardly on a footstall in front of a hideous sofa, in a room that could be part of a large, static caravan. Is he looking at something or avoiding the eye of the camera?On the surface, this is just a badly-taken portrait with the feet cut off, the subject in the centre and a slightly jaunty angle, but it has echoes of greatness and I'm reminded of the work of Richard Billingham.
I'm also struck by the marked contrast with another photo I found, from over a century earlier:
However, in this case, I think the main difference is social rather than temporal.
I think it likely that the awkwardly seated man is looking at a television screen.
ReplyDeleteThe facial expression is interesting: part disgust, part confusion (to me, at least)--and a keen loneliness.
ReplyDeleteThe loneliness seems apparent in the second photo as well.
Great find.