Untitled (New York, NY 1974) Photo taken by: Elliot Erwitt(July 26, 1928-Present)

Elliot Erwitt’s mission when taking photos was to show the viewer a perspective that had eluded their sight before. Erwitt was born in France, but being born from Jewish-Russian parents at that time, they emigrated to Italy. Finally, at the age of 10, Erwitt and his family emigrated to the U.S. After studying photography in California and working as a photographer’s assistant in 1951 during the war, Erwitt gained a lot of experience taking photos of people, families, and photographs from peculiar angles. He was given the opportunity to photograph important figures such as Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow.

The photograph taken above is not of a famous person and not of a family portrait, but of a pair of paws, feet, and a small dog. Previously stated, Erwitt’s mission is to show the viewer a perspective that they would not have thought about previously which is why I chose this is the photo in his collection that grabbed me the most.

The studium seems to be that Erwitt wanted to show the perspective a small dog in New York City in the year 1974. The studium is of a New York City street that includes a cobblestone road with foliage in the background. There are leaves on the ground and the figure in the middle seems to be wearing a large coat and boots; suggesting that the season is fall. To me, Erwitt wanted to capture how different the world is for a small dog than that of a larger being and this is supported by the angle at which Erwitt chooses to take this photograph. Not only did he have to get close to the ground, but he also decided to cut off the left two figure’s upper bodies. This emphasizes that the studium is not only of a New York city street during the fall, but also from the perspective of a small animal.

For me, the punctum, the object that draws my attention beyond the image, is that of the dog’s clothes. The dog is dressed in a flamboyant striped hat along with what seems to be a knitted coat with pom poms near its neck area. Before I saw this dog’s clothing, I just saw the long paws on the left, a person with high boots in the middle, and a small dog looking directly into the camera on the right. The dog’s clothing leads me to presume that the owner cares about the dog’s appearance and may even be of higher status to dress a dog in such vibrant clothing. Elliot Erwitt’s style and angle of this photo helped me to see New York City in a different light.