Optimal Manhattan

This image has always amused me and I'm not exactly sure why. It could be Mr. Peanut who, I can well imagine, would not be averse to tipping a Manhattan (or two!) were he an actual being and not the cartoon image of a peanut. With his top hat, tails and monocle he appears as though he might be quite a fine drinking campanion. Also of interest is the fact that the jar of peanuts has been consumed possibly to the bottom of the label, whereas the Manhattan has not been touched and exhibits the surface tension phenomenon common to most of the images in this series. The apples in the bowl suggest ... what? A nod to good health, I suppose. (I admit that, on occasion, I have had a Manhattan (or two!) and then "chased" it with a fresh apple or some other type of fresh fruit in the hopes that that would somehow offset what the sober man recognizes as the potently poisonous effects of the alcohol that suffuses the refreshment. ) Perhaps that is the deep meaning that lurks behind the surface whimsy of the shot: the cartoon that is the true nature of the debonair mask of the fop (whose essence is ultimately reduceable to the salt, oil and largely indigestible protein of the peanut in the jar), set next to the illusion of a healthy life contained in the bowl of richly blushed but essentially toxic fruit (note the product ID tag barely visible on the surface of the pomme, marking it as the pesticide laced commodity product of world agribusiness), all held together in tenuous balance by the illusion producing intoxicant in the frosted glass. So, potential meaning galore but, in the end, still an amusing, engaging image that may well be not worthy of even this level of exegesis. As a final note I should add that this image has been "optimized" by the basic Windows photo editor software. This has the advantage of making it more easily viewable for a general audience. The tradeoff is that the original "unoptimized" file is much darker and more sinister. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is disturbing, but it does elicit something that this version does not. No matter, this is what I have chosen to post.

Lady Liberty Manhattan

This is quite an interesting shot, I think, for a couple of reasons. First, it is taken from a cell phone. Cell photos can be visually arresting, once their technical limitations are accepted. This one falls into that category, again in my opinion. A second reason I find this interesting is suggested in the title I have given it: Manhattan Towers. The bottles in the background are grouped in such a way that they suggest the Manhattan skyline. There are large and imposing structures of all types -- colorful glass towers mostly, but to the extreme left a reflective silver edifice. This is evidently the creation of an architect and client who are not afraid to challenge both man and god in the realization of their ambitions. Certainly a bold statement! This "Manhattan" of bourbon, wine and cocktail shakers, of course, forms a backdrop to an actual Manhattan, the alcoholic beverage, rising like Lady Liberty from a turquoise-y surface that suggests the waters of New York Harbor. The low angle is also quite interesting, I find, as are the oven knobs and combination salt shaker/peppermill in the extreme background on the right. One could, I imagine, speculate for some time on the meaning of all this. Personally, I am content to enjoy the image for what it is on the surface, another ironic juxtaposition that amuses and fascinates in the manner of all great art, on an indirect sensual, rather than a direct intellectual, level.

Disaster Manhattan?

This is a manhattan in front of a television. I don't recall now what show it was. It looks like it may have been a news show about people in an emergency putting together relief packages, in which case this would be an interesting juxtaposition: a manhattan, which would normally be something a person who is relatively comfortable and well off would consume, and a scene of natural or man made disaster, in which people's needs are much more basic. In fact, people in such dire circumstances probably wouldn't even want a manhattan were one available -- or at the very least they shouldn't drink one until their situation is resolved because it would provide no nourishment and could diminish their ability to think clearly and make the type of decisions that would enable them to survive. Of course this might not be an actual news show but might just be a television drama about people in the midst of misfortune or it might not be a show depicting human misfortune on a large scale at all. In these cases, the juxtaposition is not really as satisfying.