Saul Leiter, Shoe Advertisement for Miller Shoes

On Wednesday I went to the Bruce Silverstein Gallery to complete an assignment for my digital photography class. The assignment was to visit "The Color Show" and chose an image that I found striking in some way. We were to write a brief visual summary of the image and what in the image "makes us tick." So, here it goes my friends...... Don't judge my little paragraphs too harshly, I'm out of practice ;)

Click here to look at the Gallery's website!

The image I found most striking in my visit to "The Color Show" was Saul Leiter's photograph Shoe Advertisement for Miller Shoes. It was not until after viewing the image that I learned the title of it. The photograph was taken from above the subjects. To me this vertical image is composed of a few main elements: an open umbrella, the legs and feet of a female, the leg and foot of a male, a stone street, and 4 pink roses in the hand of the female. The top portion of the image is composed mostly of an open, purple umbrella. The umbrella hides the face and upper body of both of the figures underneath, leaving the bottom portion of the image to expose the grey, wet, reflective stone road they stand on, as well as a nicely clothed leg of a gentlemen, and the light brown skirt and bare legs of the female figure. Her left foot is planted on the ground, while the right leg is kicking up behind her. In her left hand she holds four pink roses. The image is focused on the shoes of the figures: the black dress shoe of the man, and the brown, classy high heels of the woman.

I was stunned visually by this image, because I couldn't help but feel like I was falling into it. As a viewer I felt very small, as if I could slide off of the umbrella into this private moment between the two figures underneath. I like how the image has a romantic quality and at the same time it is a bit mysterious. The coloring of the image, with the deep purple, pinks, browns, and darker shades of grey, exudes romance to me. The roses and the kick of the female foot also give a glint of a romantic tone (I can't help but associate the kick of the foot with the classic, age-old Hollywood, perfect kiss moment). On the other hand, a mysterious tone is exhibited due to the upper part of the bodies being hidden. This notion make me curious about what is actually going on underneath the umbrella. While I'm curious about the part of their interaction that is hidden, I am not disappointed that I do not see it. The juxtaposition of the right foot of the man and the left foot of the woman is a bit comical, but at the same time it points out the fancy-quality and contrast of the shoes.