For my personal interest assignment, I chose Marc Steinmetz to be the artist I would like to investigate. In Steinmetz's career he has taken many series of photos in black and white, capturing moments left without color that leave the viewers to interpret the story behind them. I found this most intriguing due to life not always being black and white but gray. Primarily in his series “Southeast” Steinmetz focuses on capturing a sense of not belonging and loneliness among the next generation. To collect these feelings Steinmetz takes photographs visiting teens and areas they may stick around to tell a story of how people may interact in their daily life. This includes taking pictures focusing on body posture as well as facial expressions (photo with two teens laying on a couch). Having people lay down or sit in areas most people would deem uncomfortable, however these young individuals have no problem spending extended periods of time in these positions. One of the other photos he took shows a woman laying down on the couch. You can see her eyes are barely open and the sun is showing through the window. This leaves us to interpret that the subject is tiring even though it is daytime and appears to be alone with nobody home from what is captured in the image. Another photo takes us to a gentleman passed out or sleeping in a bush. The man's limbs are positioned to be laid out in a comfortable looking position which is awkward due to him falling asleep in a bush. This leaves us with much room to write the story in our heads. To also encapsulate these feelings, he visits locations like homes and uses a frame inside of a frame to show seclusion or imprisonment one may feel from the outside world in their homes (Birds flying in and out the window).
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