Assassins pistol, Vienna, Austria, 2003 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > Assassins pistol, Vienna, Austria, 2003

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24-APR-2003

Assassins pistol, Vienna, Austria, 2003

When Gavrilo Princip pulled this trigger in Sarajevo in 1914, he fired what would become the first shot of World War 1 and changed the course of world history. Today this pistol is displayed in Vienna's military museum. I chose not to photograph the entire weapon. Rather, I moved in as close as the glass showcase would allow, and emphasized the details on the silver barrel, trigger, and handle. The name of the pistol's manufacturer, its trademark and patent information, are displayed on the silver steel of this cold, hard, uncomprimising killing machine. Details ignored by history but now revealed and emphasized as accessories to the crime.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/20s f/2.5 at 21.0mm hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	24-Apr-2003 11:39:38
Make	Canon
Model	PowerShot G2
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	21 mm
Exposure Time	1/20 sec
Aperture	f/2.5
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias
White Balance	(-1)
Metering Mode	matrix (5)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance	0.380 m

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		27-Feb-2005 07:06
The blood is here, Adal:http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/20765859 And that was only the beginning......

Phil Douglis		27-Feb-2005 03:01
You see things here that I missed. Thanks. And yes, use this in your class. That's why I make my images. To teach.

Adalberto Tiburzi		26-Feb-2005 18:47
Only blood is missing here. Yet, it is suggested...

craig		25-Jan-2005 22:27
This is brilliant in its depiction of the horror. Interesting the Fabrique Nationale symbol. Hmmmmmmm? May I use this in my WWI history class where I teach? Thank you. Craig

Phil Douglis		12-Dec-2004 04:04
Thanks, Barri, for this wonderfully observant comment. The instant I saw those tiny, mundane, manufacturers words engraved on the barrel of this gun, I saw that metaphor you mention. How normal these tiny details are. How elegant the design of the handle, the comfortable grip, the circle at the trigger, waiting for that finger to enter and squeeze. As you've said so well -- the sensitive detail of this gun, yet the horrible use it will be put to. A cold blooded murder on the streets of Sarajevo, followed by the systematic slaughter of young Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders, Turks, and Americans. An entire generation decimated -- only to do it all over again, in even more horrible fashion, a quarter century later. And so I went back to the origin of it all and made this image to remind us, by displaying some very simple detail, how a single tool can set the world ablaze.

Barri Olson		12-Dec-2004 00:35
What a metaphor this is.The sensitive detail of the gun, the horrible use intended for it. All my life I have tried to understand the reasons for WWI. The buildup of arms, the secret treaties, the rivalries among great cultures. And it boils down to the quest for power, and the means to get it...whether the quest by empires or individiuals. Thank You. What a great photo. Barri

Phil Douglis		11-Dec-2004 23:07
That too is what this image is all about, Clara. The detail on that gun, so lovingly designed and crafted, is quite incongruous to the brutal, primitive use to which the gun is put. As for commemoration of history, there are museums that promote understanding and harmony, culture and beauty. Art museums are such places, are they not? But this museum, as I pointed out in my caption, is not displayed in an art museum, but in Vienna's Military Museum, a place that commemorates war and strife. Why does such a museum exist? Because war exists, and war is history, and this is a museum of military history. You may not agree with the purpose and practice of war, but the principles for which wars are fought over are often worth at least remembering. One way to possibly prevent future wars is to understand the futility and suffering of past wars, and that is reason enough for the existence of such museums.

Guest		11-Dec-2004 20:55
I tell you, this is a very primitive culture, ours, this stone-age humankind of us. Why a gun is shown in a museum? why weapons of past centuries are collected and shown proudly? Where are the museums devoted to human progress? I understand history is history - meaning it is important, but then, what´s the face of human history, one of love and human harmony or one of division and fights?

Phil Douglis		21-Feb-2004 04:45
I wish there were, too, Steve. The photos I have seen of Gavrilo Princip describe his appearance but do not tell us who he was. That is left to the historians.

Guest		20-Feb-2004 20:23
If only there were a way to so effectively capture the essence of the man that pulled the trigger.

Phil Douglis		16-Oct-2003 21:14
Thanks for this observation, Carol -- you are the first person to ever make a comment about the role of positive and negative shapes on my galleries, and that plays major part in establishing meaning here. I want to call attention to the details, and if the negative space (the black area of the picture) was not placed exactly where I placed it here, this image would not be as forcefully organized, and the detail would not "pop" out of the picture at us as effectively as it does. Whenever we compose a picture, we must carefully arrange both content and the space that surrounds it. Thanks again for another astute observation. Phil

Carol E Sandgren		16-Oct-2003 01:07
I just now found this gallery of close-up detail shots. This one I particularly love with the strong positive and negative shapes, so close up yet still it reads as a gun.

Phil Douglis		30-Sep-2003 21:53
Thank you, R. McBee, for your eloquent comment. You have perfectly defined my intention in making this photograph. I felt everything that you verbalized as I made this photograph in Vienna last spring.

R McBee		30-Sep-2003 14:03
It's amazing how a single moment, with a single object, could change history so dramatically. This photo summarizes exquisitely the random pointlessness of the First World War. It speaks volumes. The angle, the cold, monochromatic tones, and the machine-like, inhuman texture all seem to act as a foreboding of the horrors to come in the war. This is a great photograph.

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