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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eight: Light and shadow shape meaning > The Face of Time, Franciscan Monastery, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2005
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12-SEP-2005

The Face of Time, Franciscan Monastery, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2005

The soft reflected light falling on the face of this figure atop a 14th century sculpted column in the Monastery’s cloister creates a timeless image – it almost comes to life before us. I often think of the flow of light and shadow as sculptural in itself. It reveals as it hides, offering our imaginations food for thought. Some might opt to convert this image to black and white since there is very little color in it. I did not choose to do so. The tiny amount of color here is subtle but important – it is the palette of the middle ages itself, a bit of beige, a trace of purple, wrapped in the softness of gentle, indirect light. It is what gives this image its title.

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Phil Douglis07-May-2006 00:26
Thanks, Jeff. I am glad you find my teaching galleries of value. I saw your Venice images on similar subjects, and would suggest using a long lens to move in on the detail and make it large enough for your viewers to appreciate the value of that art. Thanks again for your comment.
Phil Douglis11-Nov-2005 05:08
I am glad you like this picture, PA -- it is one of the most haunting images I've ever made.
You are right about the shadow on the right side -- there are more faces lurking over there. The stuff bad dreams are made of. And you also articulate exactly what I was thinking as I made this picture -- how much history this face has witnessed since the 14th Century. How can such sublime beauty come from people so conditioned to coarseness and cruelty? Yes, this is in a monastery, but from what I understand, life in such places was not always peaceful. Read "In the Name of the Rose." You show us here how the imagination can take an image and run with it, building its own images in its wake. And that is what expressive photography does so well -- triggering imaginative sequences within the mind of the viewer.
PA 01-Nov-2005 01:18
This picture with the shadow on the right side, which seem to hide two more faces, takes me back to my early childhood years. I imagine that I am sent to bed as sun sets and this sort of monster face is there, not exactly scary, but strange enough to make me feel uneasy, wanting to hide under the blankets and not move… The face is sort of a semi-severe guardian. The colours add a realistic touch to it.
That big head with a bonnet also talks about the past. When I visit Europe and see this kind of sculpture in public places, I often try to imagine what kind of scenery this face must have seen pass by over the centuries – the big disasters such as war and sickness and familiar moments such as merchants selling their products on the market place, beggars, children laughing, running down the street, a first kiss or a rape, a priest, a fight between neighbours, an execution, a marriage celebration, etc. I also see unsanitary conditions (at least until 1850s) and wonderful people who survive in difficult conditions and work very hard. But I diverge because this sculpture is located in a monastery - so what did this one really see? What were the monks main occupations there beside praying? Did they make beer or wine? How did they connect with the outside population?
I see why you called it The Face of Time.
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