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Rhetoric in Photographs

Born in Weymouth, Massachusetts 1946, Sandy Skoglund started out working with regular photography in 1974 and eventually moved toward creating her own surrealist scenes. These scenes consisted of shapes and objects made out of paper-mache, plaster, or polyester. Sandy Skoglund's most famous work of art is known as “Revenge of the Goldfish” which is a staged photograph that was taken in 1981. This photograph and “The Cold War” also a staged photograph was taken in 1999 contain a social meaning and special context.Although both photographs have similarities within the images, the truth is that they were taken nearly 20 years apart. “Revenge of the Goldfish” has a more childlike imagination quality, while “The Cold War” reflects more of a stressed and frightened feeling. Following the theme of rhetoric being a form of persuasion, There is many persuasive elements throughout the photos.Both photos make people think. Not just one solitary thought, but many. The bright colors and oversize fish/weapons take the focus off the people. These are the types of photos that shift our view of reality, because of size and color. The goldfish photo makes one think of how goldfish are treated and how they are always on display to look at, and we are left to decipher what the "revenge" part refers to. maybe the people are now the ones who are going to be constantly looked at, maybe they aren't all that different. This will shift the worth of humans, comparing us to goldfish in some way: thinking abilities? appearance? life? how many other ways? Will our abilities be affected by being compared to a fish? The trend seems to appear at the edges of the photos while the center of the image tends to be regular sized which brings the overall message more startlin g. The cold war (1999, Kosovo war) and revenge of the goldfish(1981 hostage crisis). My Claim: The trend in “Revenge of the Goldfish” reveals the message of the photos and what type of thought or social intervention, like the hostage crisis for instance, went into them. These photos are strong indicators as to what was going on in the world at the time the photo was taken. This photo appeals to those who would be deep thinkers, and those who would want to mull over all reasons for why the pictures look the way they do, and what they could possibly mean or what influenced the photographer to take this picture.  Photographs are meant to reveal emotions, and send a message to the public. “Revenge of the Goldfish” seems not as menacing as the title suggests. Goldfish are always known to be on display in a glass water bowl. Goldfish are always accessible to be viewing, never to be given privacy. The people in the bed seem to not notice that there are goldfish surrounding them, which seems to mean they are desensitized to it, just like the goldfish are desensitized to being on constant display. The humans are now the goldfish. The humans are the now the ones who will never get a moment of privacy. This is the revenge. The way the goldfish are strewn about seems hyper, or suggesting a great deal of commotion. The people seem to be unknowingly being held hostage by the goldfish, which references the 1981 hostage crisis. The people are now being held hostage by the goldfish, when usually the goldfish are usually being held hostage by people in a small world. Now that the goldfish have experienced freedom they show no intent on going back, therefore they are getting their revenge on the humans for holding them hostage and showing the humans what it feels like. This photograph suggests that connotations are the center of the image, the people. While the denotation, the goldfish of the image stays to the outer edges of the photograph. The audience for this photograph could be aimed at deep thinkers. People who like to take the normal and dig underneath it to see whats really there. This photo is meant to be interpreted, and those who like to think, judge, and critique is who this photo is for.  The readymade in this photograph focuses on the goldfish, and what goldfish mean within the cultural myth. The identification within this photograph persuading people to put themselves in the shoes of the subjects and bring in their own values, experiences etc to help decipher what the rhetoric of the photograph is saying to them. All answers will be different but will loosely have some commonality. Possibly when referencing the goldfish and the time the photograph was taken. My claim: The trend in “the Cold War” is the Kosovo war. In 1999 there was finally NATO, UN and OSCE presence in the Kosovo war. The Kosovo war is being compared to the cold war, and the emotional effects it had on people. The photograph contains a man hovering underneath a very small desk with his dog, while red military men and missiles are pointed at him and the dog while the man covers his face. This photograph has the perfect blend of Ethos and Pathos embedded in the image. The pathos of this photograph is the obvious emotional effects war has on the human psyche. The pathos brings in the emotional aspect of war. This photographs persuades one to look at war as if it were happening to you and how it would make you feel. The focus of the picture is of the man and his dog. The pathos of this image lies within the meaning of the missiles and army men. Ethos asks the question of 'why' ethos wants to know the ethical meaning of the photograph. This photograph brings in the ethical question of war, and the effects that it has on people<range type="comment" id="986450">. The audience for this photograph is for those who like to have ethical thoughts or discussions about war. Although the audience can be <range type="comment" id="220852">anyone because the photograph is meant to persuade people to think a certain way, even a way that is different from their own.<range type="comment" id="721545">The outline of the photograph is large missiles that get smaller by camera angle and army men that get smaller by camera angle. The readymade is the social conflicts of war. We ourselves have not constructed identities of war, but rather they are fed to us by news and other media outlets. This photograph is more about being socially aware of war rather that being politically aware. Unlike “Revenge of the Goldfish” this photograph holds more weight in it's meaning and impact on people. Sandy Skoglund it trying to get the audience to think, and to make the audience wonder what it would be like to be in the place of the photographed subjects. These photographs are taken nearly twenty years apart but it is apparent that Skoglund has not lost her touch to impact people with an image. Skoglund's rhetorical imagery is exaggerated in size and message to make the audience really think about what it is they are looking at and how exactly they feel about it. These photographs reflect a certain time in history and try to persuade the audience in viewing it the same way. Skoglunds talent has crossed over generations and her works are still being talked about today.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; text-align: center;">Works Cited <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; text-align: left;">Skoglund, Sandy. "Sandy Skoglund Art Site."//Sandy Skoglund Art Site//. Sandy Skoglund, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. <http://www.sandyskoglund.com/>.