Descriptive Writing: Small Woods Where I Met Myself and Dream Theater

The first piece of work, by Jerry Uelsmann, that I decided to write about is called Small Woods Where I Met Myself. The first thing that catches my eye in this picture is the figure standing in the middle of the woods that has no reflection. The fact that this figure has no reflection indicates to me that it is possibly not human. It could be a ghost or it could be a person looking at himself in this picture. The title can be a symbol that the middle figure may be looking at himself and therefore has no reflection because these are "the woods where he is meeting himself". The figure is not similar to the others in the picture. It looks as if it may be in motion because one leg is bent and the figure is at an angle more sideways than the other one. It is hard to tell if this figure is a woman, or if it is even a human. The only thing possible to see is the shape of the body.

There are two other figures standing in what appears to be woods and the two of them appear to be women. The first person on the left side of the picture is standing, slighty slouched, behind a small tree. This person has a whitish glow behind her which could mean that it is nighttime in the woods. Her face does not have much detail and only appears to be dark. Her reflection looks the same as she does standing there. She looks similar to the other figure standing on the right side of the picture. These two women appear to be wearing the same clothes and their hair and bodies have the same shape. The only differences are that the one on the left is just standing slightly closer and her face has no detail. The facial detail can somewhat be seen of the woman on the right. She appears to be looking straight ahead as if she is staring at something. Her shadow also appears to be the same as her profile. What these omen are looking at cannot be determined because all the eye can see is their reflection. The reflection could be on water but its hard to tell. The colors are black an white, with different shades of gray and such. The shadowy glow behind the figures is brighter and matches the reflections. The use of the brighter light shadow behind the people is used to indicate that its nighttime. Everything is perfectly reflected in this picture except the figure in the middle, which makes this picture quite interesting to look at and think about.

The second picture I'm going to describe is called Dream Theater. The first thing that catches my eye in this picture is the two hands on top of a book. The hands appear to be a faint transparent white. The book under the hands could be a bible, which would make sense because the transparent hands could belong to God. They could be the hands of some spirit or supernatural figure. The book could also be something else, like a dictionary and the figure could be trying to figure out what is going on. This figure could be looking at the person in the middle of the picture and maybe judging it or trying to understand the situation.

The person in the middle of the picture appears to be walking farther and farther into this structure of columns neatly placed together to make an arch at the top. The columns look like they could be an entrance to a church or it could be something else. The structure looks like it is older because of the architecture. The person could be walking into a church and this could be their judgment day or the person could be walking out of the building and towards the hands. Something that I find interesting about this person is that it is a dark solid color. The hands are a light transparent color. This could symbolize a separation of purity and impurity.

The next thing that caught my eye is the crow sitting in the middle of the ground. The crow could symbolize darkness, sorrow, or loss of some sort. Both the crow and the person are black, meaning that they could have some similarity symbolically. Its interesting that it stands in the middle of the hands and the person. The part of ground next to the crow that appears to be either missing, or it could be a part of a table where the hands and book rest.

Something that I find interesting about the building is that the top is obscured by clouds. The clouds could be a symbol of loss and death indicating that a loved one is gone. The clouds could represent heaven because white can represent purity. The clouds don't take up the whole top part of the picture, there is only a few of them and then just the dark night sky. The clouds light up the inside of the building where the person is walking and emphasize the dark figure. The clouds are white and greatly contrast with the night sky. They stick out because the color doesn't belong in the setting.

Both of the pictures are very interesting and have many interesting characteristics about them. In The Small Woods Where I met Myself, I think that the figure in the middle with no reflection is the most eye-catching and mind-puzzling part. It could be something unreal or a human being. I think it makes the picture interesting because it makes a contrast of reality and fiction. I think all the colors and symbols in the Dream Theater picture are fascinating. The crow and the person identify with each other in the fact that they both appear dark. The hands are white and transparent and are similar to the white clouds on top of the building. I find both of these pictures interesting to look at and to interpret because they have a lot contrast and are different from most artwork I have seen before.