As I carefully studied the two photographs that Jenny Fine gave the world to view, it became apparent, in my mind, that she captured two slices of time in the lives of two sisters. It was easy to ascertain that the two sisters captured on film were very close to the same age. In “The Sisters,” both of these young girls appear to be in the age range of nine to twelve years old. The sister on the viewer’s right appears to be the older of the two. Interestingly, the photograph did not reveal these girls’ faces—only their bodies from the shoulders down. In this photograph, both were standing side by side in a dance studio. It was a safe, simple, serene environment. The setting revealed their artistic upbringing. It was obvious that these girls had been refined—their dresses indicated class and money. They were standing erect with their hands artfully clasped in front of them. Their mannerisms indicated inherited tendencies. From their correct posture, one could surmise that the ways of their upbringing had encouraged them to be elegant and graceful. From their many hours of exercise, their shapely, bare legs depicted they were part of a family that knew that fitness and class were married to each other. As these two Caucasian girls showed off their custom-made dance shoes, one could see that they were dressed to dance. Age allowed the older sister to be more daring and independent as her dress was shorter and more colorful than her sister’s. These two young sisters were innocent, pure and happy to take their roles in a family filled with relatives that knew the value of art in their children’s lives.
Ms. Fine then carried these two young girls through their lives until the next artistic communication, “Morning Old Sister,” shows them reaching their twilight years. Again, they were faceless in the photograph. This time legs were covered by clothing, but, just as before, their hands were a focal point. The sisters appeared to be in their early seventies at the time of this photograph. Their hands were clasped in two different directions, and their lives had traveled down two different paths. The sister on the viewer’s left showed a right hand clasp. It was easy to assume that she had made choices that had lead her down a path that was correct for her approval from society. The sister on the viewer’s right could easily be stereotyped as straying from the accepted norms of society. Even though she might have been slightly older, her left hand clasp and discolored arms allows the viewer to assume that she had not been socially acceptable. Her days had been filled with hidden moments that led to her outward appearance—an appearance showing the hard reality of a life that had turned down the road less traveled. Into their old age, the sisters continued to show their elegance and grace with their correct posture, dress, and mannerisms. The family values that were instilled in them at a younger age were still evident.
As these two sisters faced the world, each was able to cope with her surroundings in a different manner. The environment had been kinder to the sister on the left based on her lily-white skin. Facing her obstacles using the solid, moral foundation that she learned as a child allowed her to live a peaceful existence in the face of storms.
As the other sister faced her environment, hard knocks had been everywhere. She abandoned her childhood teaching to become a product of her worldly environment.
This photograph had dark clouds looming in the distance. The dark setting, indicating a storm brewing, seemed to suggest that the sisters had experienced their share of life’s storms even though they handled them differently. They survived and continued to love one another with a strong bond. Wisdom had come from years of heredity versus environment. Long departed from the sturdy walls of the dance studio of their youth, the old sisters were exposed; yet they were not afraid to stand alone or together in an open field as clouds threatened. One greeted the other as though it were a routine day with “morning old sister.”
The innocence of their early years and the aristocratic upbringing led both of these sisters to come back to their roots even though their adult environments were totally different. In the end, it is easy to observe that heredity and sisterly love brought the sisters back to the same path. In their twilight years, a strong physical, emotional, and mental bond gave these sisters comfort and security. Sheltered and pure, one makes her storm clouds turn into fluffy white clouds of angelic magnitude. The other takes what a harsh world gave her and tamed the devils that came knocking on her door. Both were winners in the end. Only the creator of these two sisters will know their fate when death calls upon them.
As the youngest of three sisters, Jenny Fine’s art theme spoke to me in a direct way. Because her subjects were faceless, they could have even been my sisters. My interpretation of her work may not be what she had in mind when she took those pictures. As I develop a greater appreciation of art as a communication tool, I realize that the artist’s message will be interpreted in the eyes of the viewer. I highly recommend that others view this exhibit. Art speaks to people in different ways. Perhaps, Ms. Fine was strongly emphasizing this point in her exhibit. She intentionally left her photographs incomplete to allow the viewer’s mind to wonder and wander.
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