NZ Visual Diary - entry 142

A Watchful Frida

There are some interesting contrasts between the two gentlemen depicted in this photograph.

The musician in the foreground adopts a formal pose - body squared with weight equally planted on both legs, hands firmly clasped- and presents in highly stylised and colourful clothing.

The gentleman in the background strikes a casual posture - weight placed on one leg, arms awkwardly anchored beyond him with outstretched elbow, his dress of loose fitting and bland attire.

Their faces are also markedly different: one looks directly into the camera, the other is disengaged with the foreground action. One smiles; the other expresses only trace emotion.

The musician had just completed a gig in the Auckland Art Gallery as part of a gala to celebrate the opening of the Frida Kahlo exhibit. He stopped and posed to honour my request that he permit me to capture in a photograph his handsome visage and apparel.

In the background, looking down on the street-level activity, Frida herself casts a watchful eye, beautiful and perhaps slightly pensive or wary.