Art Description

Describe the Artwork

Most notable design elements - main, big b&w photo in the center of attention, with R, Y, B smaller versions bellow. Straight, vertical lines of the train tracks with horizontal line of the camp buildings. Forward tracks - right out of the camp, left - onto a ramp

Colors - main photo is b&w, and the three smaller ones look to be separated RYB color channels

Objects, people and symbols - Train tracks, one person stepping over the train tracks moving to the left, Auschwitz II-Birnekau camp in front

Focal point - train tracks, specifically the turn. Camp building is in fog, person is somewhere in between those two points

Analyze the Artwork

Impact of colors on the feelings - main b&w photo creates a sense of sadness, melancholy and hopelessness, and color versions seem to dissect that feeling and show it's underlying subtracts. Colors can be understood by their basic color feelings theory - red as strong. power, blood; yellow as danger and causion; blue as stability and depth.

Balance and contrast - none of the versions of the photo are balanced, as they're powerfully contrasted - black and white, red and white, yellow and white, or blue and white. Contrast creates the feeling of power, strong statement and weight of the situation, place and history.

Scale to convey space and distance - The photo is taken on a low hip-level, which creates a strong feeling of perspective and exaggerates distance perception. The distance between viewer and the camp seems much bigger than it is in reality (500 feet)

Usage of elements to lead eyes - main focus point of the photo are the train tracks, which guide the viewer's eye up towards the camp entrance. Then, the spanning of the gate building from border to border of the picture creates a feeling of a big size of it, with straight, simple lines adding the fear to it. There are two 'stopping' elements - tracks turning left, which adds a question 'where do they go', and a person stepping throught the tracks.

Factual subject matter shown in relation to other subject - Bottom three versions of the photo are RYB color versions of the main photography.