ZIMBABWE SCULPTURES

On Sunday, the 16th, we decided to see a Frida exhibit at Salt Lake City's downtown library.  We ultimately did not go to the Frida exhibit but in the process came across a sculpture garden in front of the library that included a number of sculptures created, I believe, by one or more Zimbabwean artists.  Following are a few of the sculptures that we saw.

Because there was quite a bit of urban clutter in the background, I opened up the aperture fully to f/4 to blur out the background as best I could.  This cost some resolution for a portion of the sculptures, but the price was worth it in terms of reducing background clutter.  Of the two shots above, I liked better the more frontal view in the second shot but liked better the darker background in the first shot.

I chose a much tighter shot for the following sculpture.

I should perhaps have closed down the aperture to get more depth of field for this shot, since I had virtually excluded any background.  However, the eye is drawn to the facial features in the center of the image, so the lack of focus in the periphery is not really an issue and, in fact, adds some overall depth to the shot.  Unfortunately, the resolution for this photo is a bit "soft."

I really liked the following sculpture.

The fact that the subject's hair was left as "unfinished" adds to the power of the sculpture, as does the melancholy in the subject's downward cast expression.

Here is a tighter shot of this sculpture.

Here is the last of the sculptures I shot.

I like this shot for a couple of reasons.  First, the background is really not a distraction.  In fact, the yellow of the fall color adds to the overall interest of the shot.  Second, the face in the foreground is really quite sharp, creating a nice line between the lighter face in the front and the darker "neck" behind it.  Despite the fact that this is a single sculpture, made out of one piece of stone, the subjects do not appear to be sympathetic to one another.  Pretty powerful.