Decapitated Deer

Artist Coke Whitworth has an exhibit at the Ackland Art Museum in which different aspects of his home back in Zionville, NC are shown through an array of pictures taken by him in the Appalachian Mountains community. There is a particular picture that is quite hard to miss; the deer head. Through this photograph Witworth is documenting his family's culture and traditions by showing a typical sport played, local clothing worn and the common type of vehicle used by his family all with the use of different lighting and texture. The achievement of portraying this social goal is well achieved through his techniques of illustrating many aspects at once of his background.


The obvious focus of the photograph is the deer. Out of all the objects in the photograph this decapitated head is the clearest and brightest, drawing the most attention to it from the audience. The fresh, red blood dripping from its neck and smeared on its nose is attention grabbing and it draws the audience to focus on it by creating a distinction with the subtle camouflaging colors surrounding it. All the browns, grays and blues displayed in the men’s clothing and the ground add on to the contrast between these colors and the vivid red. The light stains of blood shown on the guy's light blue, long-sleeve button down jean shirt, although subtle, catch the audience’s attention and provide them with context clues that this man was probably responsible for the deer’s death and decapitation.


This man is also the only one that can be seen clearly, without any distortion of the image. The image of his clothes is so clear that even the wrinkles on his shirt are visible, disregarding the fact that he is the furthest away from where the photo was taken. The other two men on the other hand, are closer to the picture but the quality of their appearance and details on their clothing are not visible whatsoever. The most probable reason for this distortion is that the photographer wanted to emphasize the focus of the deer, but he did not want to completely exclude them from the picture so the audience could get a small glimpse at Witworth’s traditional Appalachian style of clothing and culture. The image’s composition is well played out, placing what is important in the middle with greater clearness, and setting the less important things blurred on the sides of the picture.


The photograph’s maintained clarity located in the center is portrayed not only in the deer’s head and the man holding it, but it is also seen in the ground where you can easily differentiate between dirt and pebbles. The grays and browns in the ground make up for a great background that emphasizes even more the importance of the deer’s head. Even though you can easily see the ground’s texture due to the photo’s clarity, it does not take away attention from the deer simply because it is in the foreground and there is less detail to focus on.


The photographer intentionally took the picture at angle where both the camouflage jacket and the pickup truck could be shown, either in the foreground or the background, so the audience could have a better idea about what it means to be from the Appalachian area. If, for instance, the photograph had been taken from the other side of the circle of guys the truck would have not been included in the picture and one less cultural attribute of Witworth’s home would have been excluded. Angles and positions of photos matter, and this rule is perfectly shown in Witworth’s picture.


If one were to guess what the focus of the photograph is, it would be pretty simple and obvious what the answer would be; the deer. Not only because its shape is clearly visible and not blurred like other objects in the photo have, but also because it is placed right on the center. The first thing one sees when looking at anything, like a painting or picture, is the center because this is usually the most important part of the picture. Every photograph has to have a point of interest, and for this picture that is the deer. The light, clearness and placement reinforce the idea and Witworth’s goal of documenting his family’s traditions and culture are portrayed with the photograph perfectly.