Julia Genrich
Photography ART 10275
Final Project Written Rational
Superstition
My idea is to expose commonly used superstitions. Even today in our modern world people still perform superstitious rituals on a daily basis without even thinking. These rituals were started during times when science was primitive and unexplainable events were explained with everyday happenings and religion. These explanations have been passed down through generations and have become somewhat a joke to us today, but yet we still subconsciously abide by their rules.
I am intrigued by the history behind superstitions; the stories and rational behind each superstition as it relates back to an ancient life. Each superstition has a history behind it and tells the story of everyday life for the people living at that place in time. I feel that by exposing these common superstitions I am capturing a bit of the past, allowing me to look at it, study it and understand.
The images I captured surround me every day as I go through life on campus. To accentuate the normalcy of a superstation I used common objects encountered by most people and used without meaning daily. The subject of each photo is up to the individual to discover and connect to based on their expose to these common superstitious routines.
I altered my photos from color to black and white to black and white to reminisce the old black and white horror movies of the past. This gives the pictures a spookier feeling and extenuates the air of superstition. Once I changed each picture to black and white I used more contrast and darkened the image. Once I decide the theme of superstition I had a very distinct idea of what I wanted my images to look like and the feeling I wanted them to convey. I did not use much outside visual inspiration to create compositions or alterations.
I didn’t want to focus on the people in the picture. I wanted to draw viewers attention to the superstitions routine, the simplicity of it and how it has managed to transcend time and still be with us today.
My first image is titled, Fountain and demonstrates the superstition of throwing a coin into a fountain or well and making a wish. When I first started taking pictures of the coins I could not distinguish the fact that the coins were underwater. I realized that I had to move the still water to get the light to reflect off the ripples. This superstition originated in Nordic and Celtic mythology. An ancient Nordic myth depicts a “well o wisdom,” that would exchange “knowledge and discernment” for a token or precious object (“Wishing Wells: An Uncommon History of Coin Tossing, Water, and Hope for Divine Intervention).
My next photo, Four-Leaf Clover is an image of a clover I found while here in Australia, placed in a book to be pressed. This photo is a merging between a family tradition and a superstition. At home in my family whenever anyone finds a four-leaf clover we put it in the dictionary to be pressed and for safekeeping. The origin of finding a four-leaf clover as well as finding good luck is a superstition that cannot be place because it is so old. One legend is that Eve brought a four-leaf clover with her upon her departure from Eden. Because this clover is a piece of green from the original paradise, Eden, it was seen to be good luck to have it grow in one’s garden. Another legend describes a tradition that if a young woman is seeking a husband she should search for a four-leaf clover to eat. After she eats it the first unmarried man she encounters is the man she will wed. ("Superstitions - Four-leaf Clover.")
Umbrella Inside is an image showcasing the superstition of receiving bad luck for opening an umbrella indoors. This superstition stems religion and a time when umbrellas were used for protection against the sun. To open an umbrella inside would offend the sun god Ra and curse the household. An umbrella also held a symbolic meaning in that it would protect one from the “storms of life” ("Why Is It Considered Bad Luck to Open an Umbrella Indoors?") and opening one inside would result in a curse. This is also my first photo with a human subject. In my set of photographs I did not want the focus to be on the people acting out superstitions, but more on the result of them.
Friday the 13th captures a superstition that extends past not only the date, but also the number 13 in general. Many buildings, houses, streets, seats, even room numbers no longer use the number 13. The inspiration that this specific day is bad luck comes from Norse and Christian beliefs. The Norse believed that the number 13 was unlucky because of the 12 mythological demigods being joined by a 13th evil god that brought misfortune to humans. Christians believe that Christ was crucified on a Friday and that the number of guest at the Last Supper was 13. The 13th guest was Judas, the traitor. ("Superstitions.") For this picture I experimented with a few different types of calendars from this year. I found that the simplicity of the blank lines accentuated the text ‘Friday’ and ‘13’, which was what I wanted to focus on.
In the image, Spilt Salt I tried to incorporate some humor that superstitions hold for use today by spelling out the childish word “BOO”. The composition of the word written in the spilled salt helps the eye to move through the image, and then back to the word. This image exhibits a superstition that dates back to the Middle Ages when salt that a precious, expensive luxury mainly used for medicinal purposes only. Because of salts rarity spilling it was to be avoided at all costs. However, throwing salt over one’s shoulder for medicinal purposes in order to get salt into the eye of the evil spirit lurking behind one’s shoulder. ("Superstitions.")
Fingers Crossed is one of my weaker images in that I do not find the composition particularly stimulating. In this set I went for simple set up and tired to play with compositions, however I got stuck in creating an interesting composition with hands making this specific shape. I chose to us my own, single hand, with my class ring, against the sky. Keeping one’s fingers crossed for good luck is a superstition that is still commonly used today. “By making the sign of the Christina faith with our fingers, evil spirits would be prevented from destroying our chances of good fortune” ("Superstitions.").
I like the image, Knock On Wood because of the rugged, dirty wood that I chose to photograph. When altering the photo changing the contrast really brought out the texture of the wood and the subtle shading of the hand, that would have been missed if not put into higher contrast. The process of knocking on wood so as not to jinx a statement previously made dates back to days before Christianity. It was once believed that good spirits lived in the trees and that by knocking on and object made of wood would call these spirits out to protect against misfortune. ("Superstitions.")
Black Crow is a particularly ominous image of a particularly noisy crow. At a glance the crow looks more like a shadow instead of the actual crow. If I were to do this picture again I would have preferred to find multiple crows instead of just one. Crows or ravens were often associated with the devil and referenced with hell. Seeing one would foretell of misfortune to come. ("The Raven's Aviary - Folklore and Superstition.")
Leaning Ladder was an equally interesting picture before I changed it to black and white, the blue ladder on the blue wall I found to be and interesting coincidence, but in order to keep the images consistent I kept with the black and white. The superstition behind the belief that it is bad luck to walk under a ladder comes from the Christian symbolism of a triangle representing the Holy Trinity. To walk under a ladder would break the triangle and would put one in the league with the devil. ("Superstitions.")
Double Rainbow was taken outside my window at Orion College. I have never seen a double rainbow, so I was very excited to be able to document this for my project. In this case, putting a picture of a rainbow in black and white is not at dynamic as having it in color. I still used the picture because there is a haunting shape of a double rainbow left even after editing it. The superstition that there is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow may relate back to a time when one had to leave the home to go and find means to support the family. To look for the end of the rainbow is the idea of a journey and to find what one is looking for is to find the gold at the end. A rainbow has symbolism in many religions, but I found Australian Aboriginal representation of the Snake being the creator especially interesting. The Snake, giver of fertility, presents people with ‘energy’ and ‘breath’ to people. ("Rainbows in Mythology.")
This project turned out to be an inspiration of history, family tradition and personal experience. While I do not consider myself to have a dark personality it was interesting to create a project that takes a closer look at the reasons why we perform these superstitions and recognize the commonality of them still today.
Works Cited
"A Childrens Superstition "Step on the Crack, Break Your Mothers Back" Claiming There Is Danger in Stepping on the Cracks in the Sidewalk. It Exist in Many Countries, but Why ? Is There a Basis for This? | Answerbag." Answerbag.com | Ask Questions, Get Answers, Find Information. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1197131>.
"Rainbows in Mythology." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_in_mythology>.
"Superstitions - Four-leaf Clover." Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Superstitions-Strange-Customs-Taboos-and-Urban-Legends/Superstitions-Four-leaf-clover.html>.
"Superstitions." JK Sales Company - Your One-stop Online Information Source for Incense, Herbs, Tarot, and Much More. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://jksalescompany.com/dw/superstitions.html>.
"The Raven's Aviary - Folklore and Superstition." Shades-of-Night.com. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/folklore.html>.
"Why Is It Considered Bad Luck to Open an Umbrella Indoors? | Answerbag." Answerbag.com | Ask Questions, Get Answers, Find Information. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/22995>.
"Wishing Wells: An Uncommon History of Coin Tossing, Water, and Hope for Divine Intervention." HubPages. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://hubpages.com/hub/Wishing-Wells-An-Uncommon-History-of-a-Common-Garden-Decoration>.
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