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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Three: Expressing human values > Free ride, Gardiner, Montana, 2006
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28-SEP-2006

Free ride, Gardiner, Montana, 2006

We were just about to leave a supermarket in Gardiner, Montana, just outside the Northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, when a woman roared into the parking lot on an all terrain vehicle. Her large German Shepherd shares the vehicle with her, a study in equanimity. The dog displays several human values in this context – protectiveness, composure, and mental calmness. The woman, of course, takes it all for granted. And the dog apparently enjoys the free ride.

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Phil Douglis20-May-2018 22:49
Thanks for turning this image around for us, Merri. I saw most of the human values in this image as they were being expressed by a dog. And you see an equal number of human values being expressed by the driver, who happened to be an older woman. Both of us approach the same image from a different perspective, and came away with completely different lists of human values. It is not unusual to find strong variations in the context that different people will bring to the same image. And as a result most of us will respond differently to an image than others will.
Merri 19-May-2018 23:29
I'd like to share my female perspective on this scene. I see the human values of competence, control, and self-reliance exhibited by this older woman. Yes, the dog shows its protective nature, but her calmness and composure are only mirrored by the dog. She manages this somewhat unusual form of transportation (at least for the non-rural viewer) quite competently and exercises control over her dog with invisible behavioral boundaries. She is the epitome of self-reliance :-)
Phil Douglis27-Oct-2006 21:48
Thanks for noticing the incongruity of hair placement here, Tim. Her hair may express motion, but her expression is steadfast and grounded. The dog's hair, meanwhile, is unruffled.
Tim May27-Oct-2006 21:02
I like the way the wind blows back the woman's hair showing motion while the dog stands so steady.
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