La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002

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29-DEC-2002

La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002

I made this close-up of a memorial plaque on the tomb of Eva Peron in Buenos Aires' Recoleta Cemetary because of the juxtaposition of floral tributes -- one is real, the other is bronze. To create this contrast, I had remove more details than I included. I only show the edge of the bronze tribute, with its wreath and flame. And I limit the flowers to a simple curve of blossoms, the newest flourishing, the others withering. With this detail, I symbolize the cycle of life itself. When I returned to La Recoleta four days later, the flowers were gone.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/50s f/3.5 at 10.7mm hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	29-Dec-2002 18:00:05
Make	Canon
Model	PowerShot G2
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	10.7 mm
Exposure Time	1/50 sec
Aperture	f/3.5
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias
White Balance	(-1)
Metering Mode	matrix (5)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance	0.880 m

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		05-Dec-2005 00:20
Thanks, John, for your memories of Buenos Aires and La Recoleta. I am delighted that this image triggered this chain of thoughts. The Cult of Evita was very much in evidence during my visit as well. She has been dead for many years, yet her memory still fires emotions of all kinds. There are thousands entombed in this vast necropolis, and most sleep in obscurity, yet Evita never seems to rest alone.

Phil Douglis		17-Apr-2005 18:46
That's why I use this image in my "Details" gallery, Ruth. The smallest details can carry large meanings. By including or excluding such details, we can alter the nature of both form and content simultaneously.

ruthemily		17-Apr-2005 09:10
i understand. that's quite something then, that just a "slither" of a photograph can make or break its form and content.

Phil Douglis		17-Apr-2005 03:41
I look forward to seeing your cemetery photos, Ruth. As for your question about my framing of this image, I did not include the flowers on the left hand edge on purpose. They were just there, and I had to leave them there, because if had cropped them out, I would have also cropped right through the side of the orange flowers that are the subject of this photograph. To hack off the edge of that drooping flower would have destroyed both form and content. The chopped off blossom would no longer provide as strong a counterpoint to the wilted blossoms on the same plant -- the cycle of life that tells the story here. And you are right -- the image becomes much too tight and claustrophobic in terms of form. So I left the stray background flowers in. As you say, they could represent the fact that more than just Evita lies here in La Recoleta.

ruthemily		16-Apr-2005 18:13
Phil, i'm drawn to this after spending some time today trying to "work out" some intense emotions by photographing the spring flowers in a graveyard. possibly slightly different concepts, but similar enough to grab my attention nevertheless. i will welcome your thoughts when i edit them. i have a question for you regarding this image....did you crop it to intentionally include the flowers in the background on the left hand side of the photograph? i personally think it works well with them there, it is a reminder of the wider picture...the whole cemetary with many many more people buried there. it also seems to open the image up. i discovered that by placing a piece of paper over the side of the photo and seeing what it would be like cropped, but it seemed too claustrophobic and insular and closed in. maybe there's a line of thought to be followed there.

Phil Douglis		14-Dec-2004 22:50
They do, Clara. Only the photograph can overcome the limits of memory.

Guest		14-Dec-2004 22:42
We don't remember kings of the past, like in times of Ur for example. All things must pass.

Phil Douglis		14-Dec-2004 21:31
Good eye, Clara. And thanks for being the first to comment on this image since it was posted two years ago. And you certainly got the point. The details in this image illuminate the cycle of life itself. People die, so do the flowers that memorialize them, and ultimately even the memories will die as well. However in Evita's case, the memories still run strong a half century after her death. For background, see:http://www.evitaperon.org/Principal.htm

Guest		14-Dec-2004 20:45
Expressive image of a tomb and the flowers left there to die too. Meaning that not only people pass away, but the memories of them will pass to.

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