Michaela and Collin
Rita Bernstein
Description
Windows feature prominently in Joanne Leonard's and Rita Bernstein's insightful views of childhood within the home. In Winged Ones, Leonard bridged reality and fantasy by including actual bugs and insect wings in the darkroom enlarger as she printed this portrait of her daughter. Her photograph uses the frame of the window and the frame of the film negative as physical and metaphorical barriers beyond which the young girl cannot see.
In Bernstein's Michaela and Collin, the window frames a scene of play between a young girl and boy. The serene expression on Michaela's face as she gazes out the window contrasts with the efforts of the archer, Collin, behind her. Although the seemingly unaware Michaela may not be Collin's target, the proximity of his suction-cup arrow to her head lends tension to an otherwise mundane scene of domestic life. In Joanna, Age 15, the window is again used to create a note of drama in a quiet scene as a light filled window provides the backdrop for an ethereal portrait of the teenager.
Subject Matter:
This photograph was taken at Rita Bernstein's summer cottage. The image focuses on two small children in an enclosed porch. A young girl leans on a window ledge, looking out of frame, unaware that a young boy stands behind her with a toy bow and arrow held closely to her head. He is framed by a pane of the window. The lines of the windowed porch frame the subjects, particularly in the foreground. In the reflection of the window, leafy foliage is barely visible.
Physical Description:
This photograph is of two children in an enclosed porch. A young girl rests her head on a ledge, while a young boy stands behind her to the right, holding a toy bow and arrow close to her head.
Usage Rights:
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