Black and White

I choose to analyze David Anderson’s photograph Black and White for my essay. David Anderson was born and raised in East Lansing, Michigan. In college he studied history and film. For the past three years Anderson has been a full- time fine art and commercial photographer. In 2003 Anderson’s attention was brought to the small poverty-stricken town of Vidor, Texas. Located in southeastern Texas, Vidor is know as a “Klan Town” with 97.33% of their residents being from European decent. Members of the Ku Klux Klan organized marches and staged protest to keep the city of Vidor “white”. Anderson made countless trips to the town to document the aura of the town and the residents. In 2005, Rough Beauty was the winner of the Santa Fe Center for Photography Project Competition. Now in his mid 30’s, Anderson lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with his wife.

David Anderson presents the photograph in black and white, which correlates with the title of the piece. The photograph is of two cats in a field: one black cat and one white cat. In the foreground, the pure-white cat is in a deep sleep. Directly in the middle of the composition is a white rope. The white rope divides the picture and divides the cats. In the background, the black cat stands at attention. The black cat does not seem as relaxed as the white cat is. He stands very close to the rope but does not cross it. He is blurrier than the white cat. One cannot make out the features of the black cat. On the other hand, every detail of the white cat is seen.


http://www.dbanderson.com/portfolio.php?name=rough%20beauty