Outnumbered, 8th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Nine: Juxtaposition – compare and contrast for meaning > Outnumbered, 8th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006

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07-AUG-2006

Outnumbered, 8th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006

In this street photograph, I’ve juxtaposed a single man walking on ground level, and a second floor window featuring six exotically dressed female mannequins. I offer contrasts in gender, costume, vitality, elevation, and direction that create incongruous relationships rich in potential meaning. The man does not see the mannequins – they are only visible from across the street where I am. The mannequins don’t see him, either. They are otherwise occupied. Yet you can see the entire scene, and take from it whatever you wish.

Leica D-Lux 2
1/400s f/5.6 at 19.2mm iso100 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	07-Aug-2006 11:46:27
Make	Leica
Model	D-LUX2
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	19.2 mm
Exposure Time	1/400 sec
Aperture	f/5.6
ISO Equivalent	100
Exposure Bias	-0.33
White Balance
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		26-Aug-2006 03:22
Thanks, Dan -- I think anyone who has spent any time in the Village knows this street and the shops that now line it. But how many times do we look up and really see what is around us? As photographers, we should try to see what others might miss -- in this case, that row of mannequins on the second floor of shop that sells fantasies. I've tried to bring this little story to life here by juxtaposing that cast of inert characters with an oblivious human being.

Dan Chusid		26-Aug-2006 03:09
I remember this building from my earlier days of traipsing through the Village. Interesting capture of legs extended and just enough street and roof to give us a well-framed image. Good juxtaposition indeed.

Phil Douglis		16-Aug-2006 20:27
Thanks, Ai Li, and Ceci for these evocative and substantive commentaries on this image. I did not think about "wants and needs" as I made this image -- I was responding to the reality vs. fantasy aspect. Yet given the pleasure of reflection, we can move beyond that as I had hoped, and look at this in metaphorical terms. And thanks, Ceci, for mentioning the sirens. The women are there to lure customers to "The Dead End"but he will have none of it. It is interesting that you mention Yin and Yang, Ceci. Yin is, in Chinese philosophy, the passive female principle of the universe. Yin is dark, and represents the earth and the cold. And that is exactly what these mannequins are. They are the ultimate in passivity and if you touched them, you would find no warmth. They do not speak, hear, see, touch, or move. And they come at us out of darkness. Yang, meanwhile, is the active male principle of the universe, and associated with the light. And that is exactly where the striding man is --surrounded by the light of day.

Guest		16-Aug-2006 07:18
The man slouches along in his comfortable street wear, past come-ons for male accoutrement like pipes and permanent body inking, in shadow -- while above him, in the light, draped in bright colors, dominating the scene, seeming to suggest that women are actually the ones in control, are six Sirens posed in skimpy alure with stars as shawls, in a store called L'Impasse -- "The Dead End." Sirens called men to their death, but they were as about as "real" as the manniquins in the window, who can't speak either. A wonderful blend of myth and life, of motion and stillness, of flesh and wax, yin and yang.

AL		16-Aug-2006 06:33
Different layers to see and think about... The upper half is a frozen frame, perhaps about glamour and beauty, short-lived, skin-deep and too posed (for your camera :D). Visible yet waiting to be seen. The lower half is a real consumer world faced by a single man, filled with choices, be it smoking, body art, food, or even shoes for sale! You'd captured not only fantasy and reality, but also the thin line between wants and needs.

Phil Douglis		15-Aug-2006 23:34
You are right, Celia. I doubt if this man's mind is as erotically charged as the gestures of the mannequins above him are. He is, as you noted, more hungry for nourishment from his beverage. I saw the Amsterdam reference, too. Only in Amsterdam, if you try to shoot the ladies in the windows, you might get tossed into a nearby canal by their pimp. And thanks too for calling attention to the sign. You are right -- even if those were real ladies of the night upstairs, this fellow -- given the brisk authority of his stride -- appears to have other things in mind.

Cecilia Lim		15-Aug-2006 21:45
This young man's disinterest in these sexily clad group of women is strikingly funny to me Phil. This scene looks like one out of the Amsterdam red light district where women soliciting for sex show off their "goods" in big windows to passers-by. Three of the "girls" appear to be looking down at the guy walking by, yearning for his attention. But he just walks by without even noticing them. He appears to be in a totally different world, physically and mentally - he is dressed for comfort-not to impress, is more concerned about his hunger for nourishment-not for sex, and is more grounded in mundane reality, whilst your split-screen image places the girls above on a different plane, floating in a fantasy world of colour, glitter and sex. And best of all, the boutigue sign "L'impasse" seems to define it all - in the context of my interpretation in reference to the word "impasse", it doesn't look like any sex is going to happen here this very instance!

Phil Douglis		14-Aug-2006 18:20
Thanks, Jen, for noting the role of blue here as it flows through the image. Not only is the man dressed entirely in blue, but so is the mannequin in the blue gown just above him and to the right. It is a day dream -- and for the man as well. Because most of his head is abstracted in darkness, we wonder if he is imagining all that is going on above him. And yes -- the mannequins as a group seem to be in movement too, and stopped by the shutter just as he has been stopped.

Jennifer Zhou		14-Aug-2006 12:31
The blue color flows my eyes through the picture.. Those mannequins with fancy dress look like coming right out from a night club, and seems a bit odd under the bright noon light.. Indeed it is like a day dream, but the man striding through pulls us back to reality.. I love the way all the mannequins were posed, full of movement and echoes with the man's body downstairs.. And some of the mannequins are looking down from inside, seem to be curious about the world as well..

Phil Douglis		13-Aug-2006 22:10
Pipes, piercing, and sex are the stuff of dreams, indeed. Just another day on 8th Street in the Village, right? Thanks, Tim, for making these connections.

Tim May		13-Aug-2006 19:33
This image immediately caught my eye - I take another "trip" on the sign "pipes" on the tattoo shop window which leads me to think of substances smokes that can lead one to another dimension - that is significant here for me, because this young man might find his dreams reflected in the mannequins above his head.

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