civilized ku # 913-20 ~ Flat Stanley and punctum
Friday, April 15, 2011 at 01:01PM 
NYS Museum ~ Albany, NY • click to embiggen
Hugo and Flat Stanley ~ Empire State Mall, NYS Museum, USS Slater radio room, hotel, and more NYS Museum • click to embiggenPrior to my recent trip to Albany, I had never met or even knew of Flat Stanley. However, since Hugo was instructed by his school teacher to take Flat Stanley along (and make pictures of him for his journal) on anything interesting he might do on Spring break, I am now rather familiar with the guy.
And, now that I have gotten to know Flat Stanley, I am beginning to like him quite a bit. Unlike another little guy I know, you never have to tell Flat Stanley to change his underwear or socks, to brush his hair, to stop acting (and talking) like Stewie (from Family Guy), or to chill out and relax. Flat Stanley never speaks out of turn or, for that matter, even speaks at all. All in all, he's quite a likable guy.
Flat Stanley aside, I would like to draw your attention to the top picture in this entry. In doing so, I would like to relate an experience with the wife regarding this picture and the meaning(s) to found therein.
Last evening, I drew her attention to this picture by stating, "Check out this picture of Hugo." After a brief look, she stated that she wouldn't call the picture a "picture of Hugo" - to her eyes and sensibilities, it was more a picture of the NYS Museum than it was a picture of Hugo. To be fair, she was tired and Hugo (who is reading an exhibit information panel) does appear to be little more than a bit player in the picture.
However, when I look at the picture, the punctum I see in the picture, hits me upside the head and heart like a hammer blow. That accident (of photographic detail) which pricks me (but also bruises me, is poignant to me), AKA - the punctum, is connected to the fact that Hugo has taken to reading like a duck to water. At the tender age of 6, he is reading at a 4th grade level.
But, what strikes me most about this picture is not the knowledge of his reading skills. Rather, it is the fact that, because of those reading skills, a whole new world of knowledge and information has opened up to the kid. His world and world view has expanded exponentially. Although he is probably only dimly aware of its significance (if at all), he has reached a major turning point in his life. A point where all sorts of doors and pathways to learning and knowing have opened up to him. And, fortunately, he revels in his ability to read.
Picture making wise, I made this picture precisely because Hugo was so visibly absorbed in reading about the display in front of him. I thought it would be a rather "cute" (not exactly the right word) picture. What I was not prepared for was how significantly I would be "pricked / wounded" by the viewing of the finished picture.
Never for a moment, when I was making the picture, did I think that this picture might turn out to be one of the most poignant pictures I have yet to make of the guy.
Reader Comments (4)
I do fully understand your point here. When our eldest daughter read her first three sentences in a row, my wife and I opened a bottle of champagne. It goes without saying, that for her and her sisters reading was and is something positive, leaving a much smaller time window and interest for TV.
Great post. Our son, who is 5, is starting to read, and the more he does the more we realize just how quickly he is picking it up. I'm not sure why we should be so surprised... he's our first and we have no idea what to expect. He has always had a way with language.
I'm often drawn to pictures of our kids that my wife has no interest in. She likes pictures where the kids are front and center. Me, I like the story, the context, the thing shown that might otherwise be hard to capture and describe so simply as in a photographic moment.
Heresy I know, but I would have been very tempted to remove the fire extinguisher from under the nose of the animal. You could have pretended it was out for service.
"but I would have been very tempted to remove the fire extinguisher"
Hmm, maybe I miss the irony, but if was meant seriously: No, I vote against removing - it is part of the image, as a color dot important for the palette as well as an element accentuating the surreality of that museal-natural scenery.