- Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park
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Diane Arbus' Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City (1962)
Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City, USA (1962) is a famous photograph by Diane Arbus.
The photo shows a boy, with the left strap of his jumper awkwardly hanging off his shoulder, tensely holding his long, thin arms by his side. Clenched in his right hand is a toy grenade, and his left hand is held in a claw-like gesture; his facial expression is maniacal. Arbus captured this photograph by having the boy stand while moving around him, claiming she was trying to find the right angle. The boy became impatient and told her to "Take the picture already!" [citation needed] His expression conveys his exasperation and impatience with the whole endeavor, as the contact sheet for the shoot reveals. In other pictures, he is seen as a happy child.
The boy in the photograph is Colin Wood, son of tennis player Sidney Wood.[1][2] An interview with Colin, with his recollections about Arbus taking this photograph, is presented in the BBC documentary "The Genius of Photography".
After writing the song "Teach Your Children" in 1968 and recording it, Graham Nash discovered this photograph in a San Francisco gallery and found that it related to the song's message about nonviolence.[3][4] The photograph was used, without permission, on the first version of the cover of Canadian punk band SNFU's 1984 album And No One Else Wanted to Play after the band "found the picture in the library."[5] The image is also used on the cover of American Indie Rock band Cloud Cult's debut album Who Killed Puck?. An original print of the photograph sold for $408,000 in April 2005 at Christie's New York.[6]
Diane Arbus' contact sheet from the photo shootSee also
References
- ^ Segal, David. "Double Exposure: a Moment With Diane Arbus Created a Lasting Impression." Washington Post, May 12, 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
- ^ Hart, Hugh. Post-Developments. For the Subject of Arbus' 'Child with a Toy Hand Grenade,' Life Was Forever Altered at the Click of a Shutter. San Francisco Chronicle, October 19, 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
- ^ Nash, Graham. "Graham Nash on Diane Arbus's Child With a Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C., 1962." Aperture, number 196, page 88, Fall 2009.
- ^ Varga, George. Listening Post. As a Photographer, Graham Nash Still Hears the Music. San Diego Union-Tribune, January 5, 2006. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
- ^ Belke, Marc ("Muc", "muc b"). Punk History Gallery: Album Covers: Original Source of image from SNFU - Nobody Else Wnated to Play (archived discussion thread). Punk History Canada, 2006-04-14 19:20:08. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ Pitman, Joanna. "Vintage Photography: the Market for Photographs Has Grown Rapidly Since the 1980s." Apollo, November 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
External links
Categories:- 1962 works
- Black-and-white photographs
- Photography stubs
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