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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixteen: Story-telling street photography > “You are the Star,” Hollywood, California, 2012
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15-AUG-2012

“You are the Star,” Hollywood, California, 2012

One of the most photographed pieces of street art in Hollywood is Thomas Suriya’s 1995 “You are the Star” mural at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue. Many street photographers enjoy making a descriptive image of the mural, which is intended to put the viewer into the position of an on-stage performer, and reverses roles by making the numerous movie stars into the audience. I decided alter the concept of the mural by integrating traffic on both the street and the sidewalk into the mural, making it seem as if the likes of Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and their famous friends were observing the incongruous flow of city life passing before them. Instead of portraying a flat, two-dimensional scene, this image offers four layers of activity – a bright red car and its steadfast driver entering the frame in the foreground layer, a black car leaving the frame and a pedestrian passing before a dispassionate Bogart in the middle layer, and finally the audience of oversized movie stars in the background layer.

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Phil Douglis02-Sep-2012 23:52
You are right -- Marilyn Monroe is the focal point not only of this picture, but of the entire mural. She is placed in the epicenter of both the mural and my own image of it. Her likeness and costume are instantly and unmistakably identifiable, while other stars might take a bit of study. The photographic layers that precede her here certainly do exactly what you suggest -- they underscore her dominance.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)02-Sep-2012 00:31
Interesting perspective. Because of the position of the two cars, the eye goes to Marilyn and her position in the audience is made more prominent as a result.
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