{INTRO}
In 1966 Robert Frank said “Black and white are the colors of photography” [21]. Two decades later art photographers such as Abelardo Morell were still producing images in black and white. His ‘Childhood’ [7] series was produced in spite of the emergence of colour in photographic art towards the end of the 1970s [19]. When Morell produced his black and white image ‘Toy Horse’ [7] in 1987 it was probably a safe choice and possibly not a very conscious one. Unlike today where photographers, especially students, have to justify straying from colour.
{MORELL BIOGRAPHY HERE MODERNIST/POST MODERNIST}
{TOY HORSE DESCRIPTION HERE – MODERNIST SZARKOWSKI RULES APPLY SEMITIOTICS, PUNCTUM AND CONTEXT MAY GIVE MORE AWAY}
{OTHER REVIEWS OF CHILDHOOD HERE}
{SIMILARITY TO TRICYCLE HERE. MOST HATED SHOW OF THE YEAR STUFF}
{HOW DOES COLOUR FORMAT IMPACT THE READING OF BOTH IMAGES}
{SZARKOWSKI AND PEACH ROBINSON COLOUR OPINIONS HERE}
{MoMA INFLUENCE AND BAROMETER DISCUSSION HERE}
{WHAT WAS THE INTENTION. WAS IT DUE TO ATTITUDES OF THE TIME MOMA diLORCA}
{CONCLUSION}
My main issue with the image is that it is in black and white and what I want to examine is do I think that Morell made a conscious decision to use black and white because it was the best artistic choice for his subject or was it because black and white was what he did at that time and it wasn’t even a consideration. One argument that I will put forward is that he chooses subjects that work well in black and white. In this case he is re-enacting his childhood which he sees in black and white because black and white was how moments were captured when he was a child.
Martyn Rainbird 