Saturday, June 2, 2012

Doors At Old City Hall and Magritte's Clouds



I posted a photo of the doorway at the Old City Hall yesterday, and I chose to post the one which cropped off the bottom half of the door.

This was an instinctive choice, I didn't really think much about it. But, looking back at the full length f the door, I notice now that the clouds reflecting on the window panes of the door are much clearer on the cropped version.

And to be completely honest ( :-) ), I didn't notice the clouds in the window panes as I was taking the photos in the first place. I was more interested in the Romanesque engravings above the doorway, a well as the carvings on top of the doors.

Still, something interesting came out of my shoot. The clouds in the window panes resemble the cloud paintings that modernist painter Magritte was famous for. And modernists are big on the "element of surprise," something which happens when we are "not thinking" or "not reasoning" but let our subconscious lead us to the right image. I guess my subconscious saw those clouds, registered them, and influenced my conscious being to take the photo.

Whatever the reason, it worked!

René Magritte
"The Human Condition", 1933.
Oil on canvas