Diane Arbus: "Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962"

Diane Arbus (1923-1972) was an American photographer, known for photographing "the fringes of the society" (Artnet, 2022). According to Artnet (2022), she was also known for her photographs of children, celebrities and the society, and she committed suicide in 1971, when she was at the height of her career.

The image of "Child with a toy grenade in Central Park, NYC, 1962" brought a contrast between the boy, Colin Wood, and the children behind him. The photograph drew my attention when I was looking for a photograph of Arbus' collection "on freak" as I can feel how desperate and anger the boy was. Arbus photographed the boy who was staring at the camera through eye level, for me it created the feeling to the audience that we should immerse to her perspective. I believe that his anger was expressed through his facial expression and his hand gesture, and children at his age were supposed to be happy. And I think that he might face some difficulties at that time, as he might be experiencing . This made me start wondering why a child at the age that supposed to be happy looked sad, angry and desperate. In fact, according to an interview Wood taken by Francis (2018), that period of time was not his happiest day, as his parents were divorced, and he had no idea on how to deal with the negative emotions. The photograph was taken in a sunny day, as we can see the contrast of shadows and lights, and I think it also created contrast between the weather and the mood of the boy as well. Since it was a sunny day, people should be in a good mood instead of frowning. In my opinion, the reasons why Arbus took a photograph of Wood, might because she wanted to use the boy as a reflection of herself since she also suffering from mental issue (Artnet, 2022). She might found some similarities between the boy and herself while she was walking on the street in 1962, a year of uncertain and turbulence. 

Diane Arbus' photograph of "Child with a toy grenade in Central Park, NYC, 1962"

 

Reference List:

 Bunyan, M. (2012), Exhibition: ‘Diane Arbus’ at Jeu de Paume, Paris, Art Blart, Available at: https://artblart.com/tag/diane-arbus-on-freaks/, Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.

Charles Saatchi. (2021), Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park NYC, 1964, Available at: https://www.charlessaatchi.com/child-with-a-toy-hand-grenade-in-central-park-nyc-1964/, Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.

Francis, L. (2018), Colin Wood, Diane Arbus’s ‘Child With A Toy Hand Grenade,’ Looks Back, Fatherly, Available at: https://www.fatherly.com/love-money/child-toy-hand-grenade-colin-wood-diane-arbus/, Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.