Analysis of 'A family on Their Lawn One Sunday in Westchester' (New York, 1969) by 8 Diane Arbus
It can be concluded from the name of the photograph and the content of the image itself that typical American family is represented. At first it seems that they are happy people, who have each other, child and wealth (they have their own ground where they are sunbathing while infant is playing nearby). However, selected composition of the image (symmetrical position of man and woman and a child, who brakes the rules of symmetry) makes viewers observe couple in more details and compare their facial expressions, gestures and body language. As a result, it can be found that man is not pleased and relaxed at all (with his left hand he closed eyes, which connotes a sense of tiredness). As regards his wife, she is a little overexposed, hence it is quite complicated to examine her body. As well, her eyes are not opened but in this case it more creates a feeling that she does not care about what is happening around her or she just wants to escape from reality. The last person is a boy behind them,who is playing alone. Despite the fact, he is so young and there is forest nearby (it may be dangerous if he runs away), his parents do not pay any attention on what he is doing and do more think about themselves. Hence spectators may feel loneliness of everybody in the image (they are like aliens who have no family tie). It is interesting to point that photographer itself in the year when this digital capture was produced divorced and soon committed a suicide. Therefore, the cultural context, which she probably would like to bring, suggests that even if everybody considers your family perfect because you have everything,what is necessary for being happy, in fact, the reality is hidden from the other people's eyes and maybe what you think it is blameless in fact is just faked.
Reference:
Clarke, G. (1997). The photograph. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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