uncommons

Exercise Lab, Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis.

Certainly, this photo gives pause.  The breathtaking fall forest scene on the wall invites us to hike its trails and hear the crunch of fallen leaves below our feet on the dirt pathways.  In the foreground, heavy medical tissue paper (ironically with its own crunch sound) and a sleeved pillow on the examination table gives a sense of unease while medical equipment sits idle for the next patient.  Having always loathed and feared medical tests and examinations since I was a child (the familiar smell of a medical lab and blood work is enough to make me queasy), the photo takes on a figurative visual tug-of-war.  While a part of me desires to study the foliage scene and associate good memories, the other part cringes and recoils from the medical apparatus.  I speculate the reason for the fall wall scene is to neutralize the patient’s anxiety and fear of the medical visit.  If that is the reason, then it is a tender attempt to ease the patient and provide a more relaxed environment.  A staff member mentioned that the photograph has withstood several attempts by the hospital to paint over it for almost forty years.  That is fascinating.

Compositionally (and I’m eagerly open to critiques, so please help yourself), the photograph feels heavy on the right side of the frame due to a lack of balance.  I tried to find a way to balance the sheets of paper taped to the wall (which can’t help but earn a small chuckle because they’re taped to tree limbs).  Maybe I should have stopped and spent more time at this scene, possibly using a steadier device than shooting handheld to stop down the aperture and increase the depth of field.  On the other hand, the lack of depth of field in the medical equipment very slightly increases my eye’s tendency to focus on the leaves (other than the overwhelming light and color), so maybe it is an attempt to ease over the unease.  There is also a possibility that spending too much time at the scene hinders the creative process by overanalyzing the frame.

The entire photograph is interesting, nonetheless, and lends itself as a beautiful outdoor space inside. Similar colors draw the viewer in for their own interpretation.  I wonder how long this wall photograph will remain before a drab paint overtakes it.