Breaking it down!

Look ma! A deer! If you found yourself laughing at this photo I just happened upon as I was driving through inner city Baltimore, you aren't alone. If you found it ridiculous, great. Appalling... then I have succeeded. Not only does this photo jump straight out at you, but it also seems to be a catalyst of so many different issues and lively discussions.  The Studium is as clear as it is varied. This is obviously a flamboyant show of naturalism meeting eastern civilization. The deer head hanging purposely out the back of the truck in a city where the only real wildlife adapted to the concrete landscape are pigeons and rats, this could be analyzed as a critique on failing policies of the government in regards to wildlife conservation. Or it could just be a crazy West Virginian making his way out to the "big city." Either way, the punch line I feel is the fact that this is right on the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus.

But enought about the Studium. It is the Punctum that really shocks the viewer. A quick definition of Punctum by Roland Barthe: it inspires an intensely private meaning, one that is suddenly, unexpectedly recognized and consequently remembered (it "shoots out of [the photograph] like an arrow and pierces me”); it ‘escapes’ language.[1] For me this image is a reminder of the many personal experiences that I had while I spent two years in a city very different than any other city you will find on the west coast. It will be different for another person, as life experiences, culture and childhood upbringing have uniquely shaped him or her. As for myself, this outrageous image brings back some memories that can only be labeled similarly.

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[1] Barthe , Roland. Camera Lucida—Reflections on Photography . MA thesis. The University of Chicago, New York: Hill and Wang, 1981. Web. <http://csmt.uchicago.edu/annotations/barthescamera.htm>.