joe biden on the cover of new york times magazine
the november 29, 2009 issue of the new york times magazine intrigued me. a screenshot of the cover page as on their website:
joe biden on the cover of new york times magazine
biden’s stern expression is simultaneously inviting and forthright, honest and unapologetic. and his gaze is so direct one can’t help but stare right back. (is he pained?) the sparse wall is broken only by the electrical connections near the floor and a map of iraq, or rather, a map of a northern part of iraq. both the wall and the map are the color of sand, the color of desert – a primary color of iraq. iraq is certainly a serious matter and fitting to current events in the national and international discourse (though lately perhaps not as much as the situation in afghanistan). nothing else is on the wall, and one is left to wonder if this is the ‘iraq room’ or the war room, a stark incubator for coordinating strategies that are executed on the other side of the world.
yet given the gravity of the situation and location, it’s slightly unexpected that he’s not standing or even sitting behind a desk. would that have been overly presidential? the caption below, indicating the title of the article (after cheney), places him on the same page with his predecessor, whose name often surfaced in discussions of abuse of power. his half-perch onto the chest of drawers seem to indicate some level of casualness, even if cloaked in a dark suit. presumably, the deep, dark chest is filled with files, information, things the vice president is privy to (that none of us are). his clasped hands are warm and also resolute, definitive.
the photograph was made by taryn simon for a story by james traub. i was unfamiliar with her work so i scoured around for a bit. her wikipedia entry has links to several sites featuring her photography and a healthy list of awards, nominations, and exhibitions. the gagosian gallery has a link to her lecture at TEDGlobal 2009, Session 8. perhaps not coincidentally, her project titled, “An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar,” was inspired by events in iraq and during the emergence of the war. (article from artabase)
