Ryan McGinley- Levi’s-Go Forth- This Country Was Not Built By Men In Suits
Analysis:
This is an image by Ryan McGinley, taken for Levi’s ‘Go Forth’ campaign. It is one of the posters that were used on bill boards and online to advertise Levi’s jeans. This is one of a collection, all of the images from the collection are similar and follow the same codes and conventions as each other, they all have a similar image of someone in action, in natural daylight with a quote in the same font, and colour. There is the ‘Levi’s’ trademark stamp in the bottom left, with a sub-footer underneath, naming the “Go Forth” campaign. Then opposite on the left there is a website, as a sort of contact for the viewer to interact with. However this collection does break the codes and conventions of a more generalized clothing advertisement in that it doesn’t show the clothing in close up.
It appears to be a candid shot however it was constructed. The man is walking away from the camera across a well grown crop which looks like a prairie or a meadow in the mountains.
It has been taken in natural lighting which gives a sort of toned colouring to the overall ambiance, it is slightly yellowish and this helps to set the time of day. The time of day shows that the figure in the image is either going to or from work. It is more likely that he is going from work as his shirt is rolled up and his posture looks as though he is worn out. The figure is a man wearing jeans and a chequered shirt, his his face isn’t visible, showing no emotion but leading the focus to the text, jeans and location in the image. The image of the man is a stereotypical one of an American in the working class, or a cowboy which makes more sense since the location is a prairie.
The edges of the mountains and the direction of the field act as leading lines towards the man, showing he is the main subject, or that the jeans are the main subject.
The text used is a quote in a white handwritten font which stands out on the picture, making it really visible and using the power of the poster to sell via the text. It has been digitally manipulated onto the picture. The writing contrasts against the image and stands out well against the slightly grainy image. Behind it appears to follow the way the mountains are going so it flows and fits in with the overall. The text works powerfully as does the bold statement.
The rule of thirds is also followed to show the main focus to the top right, composing the image. There is some depth of field however the mountains in the background and the sky are slightly more out of focus than the field and man, this again focuses our attention on the figure. The text doesn’t appear to fit within the rule of thirds, breaking a convention, helping it to stand out more clearly.
The man looks small yet he is still the main focus. The use of leading lines, composition and depth of field enable this. The way that the man is small allows you to see the full location and leaves space for the text without it having to cover anything important or the main subject of the image.
The smooth curve of the mountains in the background contrast well with the sharpness of the mans shape, and the spiky, sharp, un-ordered field, giving a sort of layered feeling so that the smooth things are in the background (sky and mountains) whereas the fields and man are put to the front adding texture and a sense of depth and space.
The colour and tone of the location and scenery is a natural yellowy, sunny kind of colour which contrasts with the man in his blue and red man-made colours. This makes him stand out well. Red was chosen as it’s a known colour theme for Levi’s which links in the logo in the left. The blue sky ties in nicely with the jeans so the man doesn’t look overly out of place and adds some balance to the image.
The shadowing has worked well to make the man stand out, as the shadow over the mountains darkens the mountains themselves, making the corn and man stand out once again. The light from the sun appears to be hitting the man’s back, this gives me a feeling that it is evening time and perhaps the sun is setting.
The busyness and movement in the foreground stands out against the seemingly open and endless mountains and sky in the background. Leaving a sort of track for the man to be following.
I think this works well to make it stand out from the crowd, and be remembered in a powerful way.
I feel like this image is a representation of a working man in America which draws a sense of nostalgia. This image shows the real hard-ship of the working class but in a quite beautiful way using the location and nature. I think McGinley has thought about jeans, the history of jeans and how they were a representation of a person’s lifestyle. For example jeans used to be seen as only worn by the men from the working class, who worked in the fields and mines, where all the important men were supposedly in suits. The text works ironically to go against this, to say that this country wasn’t built by men in suits. The way the man is heading home after slaving away to make the country what it is today, acts as proof for the text. The statement is an emotive one which reflects a sense of ‘pride’ in the working class.
Ryan McGinley’s work interests me in the way that he shows the harshness of life but in a really poetic way, in contrast to Dorothea Lange’s way of showing the harshness of life by photographing things as they were, and people having a tough life in the depression. Hers is more documentary style whereas McGinley’s is playing on memories, stereotypes and nostalgia.
I think this image is really well constructed and the way that the conventions are broken makes this a strong, hard-hitting image. As McGinley has used all the leading lines to a full extent to purposely make the man and the text stand out over everything. I love the way the lighting is used to present the time of day, and set the mood.
Through analysing this image I have gained an understanding for the project on the whole which has made me look at other images from this selection with a different state of mind which will enable me to construct some similar pictures following the same codes and conventions well.
It is an atmospheric image that captures the wide open spaces of the prairies. It makes references to the tradition or history associated with denim and jeans but presents it in a more modern way. It creates an image and identity for the potential customer. The emotive text creates a sense of what the ‘brand’ Levi’s is about.
