Alice

"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein

Category: Wrong!

Blog Post 2

First of all, the photo breaks the rule of composition as it is blurry, making it harder for the viewers to look at the detailed parts of the photo. We can tell that the photographer was trying to move the camera to the left when taking the photo, which eventually led to breaking the rule. Additionally, the photo is really zoomed-in, creating an unclear frame, or outline. Even though the photo is having an unclear outline, it also creates a kind of a mysterious and unknown mood, increasing the curiosity of what the photo is about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Straightforward, this photo is blurry, breaking the rule of being in focus. We can’t really see anything in a clear way; it looks like our world is shaking. Adding on, it has a terrible perspective, the photo is tilted to the bottom right, multiplying the amount of blank space, which is the grey floor. Both the lack of clarity and terrible perspective might lead to some confusion in a negative way, as the viewers get to see lots of black space; however, it might cause some curiosity, too, as in some views, people might be curious about what the upper part of the place looks like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the perspective of the photo, it builds a great amount of mysterious feeling. There’s a lot of blank space-the floor-which increases the curiosity of the photo as the viewer’s don’t get to see lots of objects.  The photo is taken in a way that it is tilted to the bottom, which is the main reason why we see lots of black spaces. Adding on, it also breaks the rule of composition as we can’t discover the focal point of the photo; there’s no main point in the photograph. Without the focal point, the viewers might lose some interest as they don’t know where to look at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rule this photo is breaking is the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is a guideline for photography, which provides photographers two horizontal and vertical lines so that it is easier to get the focal point in the middle. However, the girl, which is the main point of the photo- is overly in the right side of the photo, creating a large amount of white spaces. Having lots of blank spaces creates a massive amount of an uninteresting atmosphere. Therefore, the poor composition of the photo makes the photo unbalanced and incomplete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo also lacks clearness, which breaks the rule of being in focus. Probably the photographer moved the camera upwards, relating to how the photo includes some movement while it lost its focus. Even thought the photo breaks the rule of photography, it has a sense of beauty. It contains monotone colors, which increases the cryptic mood with some interest. Overall, the way that the photo is breaks the rule leads to some unclear feeling with an increasing interest at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The photo is out of frame and too zoomed-in, so it doesn’t show the outline of the red wall at all. It also lacks a great amount of clarity, making it challenging for the viewers to tell what the photographer wanted to show and what the purpose was. Lastly, there is no color contrast since the main colors—yellow, orange, and red—are all in the same warm mood. While this creates unity, it doesn’t add much visual interest; the photo is boring. Overall, these choices make the photo feel flat and unclear, which challenges the viewer to look beyond the basic idea of phtography and interpret their thoughts about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo breaks the rule of framing as the photo is really closed-up. As a result, the viewers aren’t able to identify the outline of the object. The interesting part of this photograph is that it’s out of focus, but we don’t see any movement of the photographer moving the camera. Also, the photo is underexposed, which means that the photo is too dark with not enough light. This photo is having a dark mood with a black background, only letting us to see the red part of the chair. Overall, every feature of this photo creates a vague and unexpected feeling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo does not have a focal point or the main focus, also breaking the rule of composition. To make a guess, the focal point might be the IB Art poster, or it might be the girl posting in the right; it is unclear. According to the rule of thirds, some might define the focal point as the poster, as it is in the middle. However, the red color of the girl’s hoodie grabs our eyes more, which increases interest. Additionally, the photo is taken in a really awkward way, which is because of the weird perspective. The way the objects are placed is not the best, as we only get to see half of the girl in the frame. Overall, the photograph breaks the rules of photography in various ways, creating lots of confusion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo creates a really vague and obscure feeling with it’s tone and clearness. First of all, the usage of grayscale, the different color scale between black and white, of the photo exaggerates the suspicious mood. Some might also say that the photo is partially overexposed as it lacks details in the white parts. Secondly, the photo seems like the photographer slightly moved the camera to the right when taking the photo as it’s out of focus. To conclude, the photo increases the mysterious mood.

Blog Post 1

The photo above is one of John Baldessari’s most famous photos, titled “I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art,” created in 1971. It shows an image with poor composition juxtaposed with the text “WRONG” below the photograph (“Wrong”). The photo captures the moment of a man standing right in front of a tree, creating the illusion that the tree is growing on top of his head. Many critics point out the poor clarity and weak usage of space and balance. Adding on to the poor composition, the use of black and white color greatly increases the visual irony of the photo, suggesting the idea of “Why did he label his own photo wrong?” Today, the world views the image as a “wrong” photograph, not only because the photo is poorly taken, but also because the word “WRONG” affects and influences our interpretation. Every element of the photograph highlights the artist’s observation of the rules of artistic creation. The simplicity of the artwork emphasizes the conceptual focus of the work, which allows viewers to reflect on the judgments made in visual art (“Wrong (1967)”).

Baldessari’s message in the image was, “Why should our work be judged?” Reflecting on this, his thoughts have influenced me to think differently; let’s not judge a photo just by its appearance. Even if we don’t know the purpose of the artwork, the word “WRONG” truly helps us consider how today’s world and Baldessari himself define the word. I believe that having the word in a huge bold font on an image that others might define as a “wrong image” is what makes the photo intriguing. The vocabulary also plays a part in increasing the curiosity of the photo with a sense of wit. The photo seems to suggest how Baldessari wanted others to understand it, utilizing awkward composition and defining it as wrong. I believe he provokes viewers to think about what defines “right” or “wrong” and how such strict rules and aesthetics shouldn’t dictate the judgment of art. The photo criticizes and highlights that creativity given to art is unlimited, and that there’s no wrong photograph.

By understanding the true meaning of a photo such as John Baldessari’s “Wrong,” I believe that a bad photo can definitely be a great photo. We shouldn’t just judge art only by its features, shapes, perspective, etc. Of course, some people might think that a beautiful photo is what we should strive for, which is sometimes correct. However, the purpose of a photo and its interpretation are the significant aspects of photography. Therefore, how perfect and pretty the photo looks isn’t the most important element we should focus on; it’s how well the photo represents the message and purpose that the photographer wanted to express, which is what creates an actual “great” photo. For Baldessari’s photo above, it might seem extremely awkward just with the man standing on the street with a poor perspective and composition; however, the word “WRONG” below the photo truly deepens the viewer’s understanding, making it inspirational and thought-provoking. In conclusion, even though the photo may seem incomplete, a bad photo can definitely be a great photo with the proper context and purpose.

 

Work cited:

Baldessari, John “Wrong” Photograph. Dragon’s Exchange. ISB,19th August 2025. https://dx.isb.cn/dash/#/classroom/945836/sections/lesson/962482/page/962485, Accessed 23rd August 2025

“Context – its about the title – Blog Post 1” ISB, https://dx.isb.cn/dash/#/classroom/945836/sections/lesson/962482/page/962485. Accessed 23rd August 2025

“Wrong – 1967, John Baldessari.” Wikiart, www.wikiart.org/en/John-baldessari/wrong-1967. Accessed 23rd August 2025.

“Wrong (1967) by John Baldessari” Artchive, https://www.artchive.com/artwork/wrong-john-baldessari-1967/, Accessed 23rd August

 

 

 

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