Anne Ferran
Whoopi Goldberg
1984
The portrait to the left, taken by Annie Leibovitz in 1984 depicts the comedian and actress Whoopi Goldberg.
It shows Goldberg lying in a bathtub filled with milk. The subject is lying on her back so that her face, legs arms and a small portion of her hair is visible, the rest of her body having been submerged in the milk.
Goldberg has raised her arms above her head so that they are being lightly pressed against the sides of the tub, with the fingers having been slightly extended to reveal the palms of her hands. The legs, like the arms have been raised in the air, but they’re also bent so that only the thighs and the calves are visible (the feet have been cropped out of the frame), with a few splatters of milk on the insides of her leg.
The subject’s face appears to be joyful, but at the same time it has a comical side to it. Her mouth is wide open revealing the subject’s teeth and tongue. Goldberg eyes are also squinting, they also happen to be focused on something that is situated to her left (viewer’s right).
Goldberg doesn’t appear to be wearing any clothing on the skin that is visible, although the photograph isn’t considered to be nude due to the fact that the subject is almost completely submerged in milk (she may be wearing clothing but it may just be clinging to the skin under the milk, making the viewer unable to see it). There is only one article of clothing that the subject is wearing and it is a piece of jewellery, a golden ring on her right hand (the ring finger).
One crucial component of the portrait is the contrast in colour between the milk and Goldberg’s skin. Being African American, Goldberg’s skin is dark, which contrasts beautifully with the off-white of the milk.
According to Leibovitz, the image was inspired was one of Goldberg’s stage routines in which she plays a little black girl who used Clorox (bleaching agent) to wash her skin in an attempt to make it white.
Leibovitz, when photographing
1984
The portrait to the left, taken by Annie Leibovitz in 1984 depicts the comedian and actress Whoopi Goldberg.
It shows Goldberg lying in a bathtub filled with milk. The subject is lying on her back so that her face, legs arms and a small portion of her hair is visible, the rest of her body having been submerged in the milk.
Goldberg has raised her arms above her head so that they are being lightly pressed against the sides of the tub, with the fingers having been slightly extended to reveal the palms of her hands. The legs, like the arms have been raised in the air, but they’re also bent so that only the thighs and the calves are visible (the feet have been cropped out of the frame), with a few splatters of milk on the insides of her leg.
The subject’s face appears to be joyful, but at the same time it has a comical side to it. Her mouth is wide open revealing the subject’s teeth and tongue. Goldberg eyes are also squinting, they also happen to be focused on something that is situated to her left (viewer’s right).
Goldberg doesn’t appear to be wearing any clothing on the skin that is visible, although the photograph isn’t considered to be nude due to the fact that the subject is almost completely submerged in milk (she may be wearing clothing but it may just be clinging to the skin under the milk, making the viewer unable to see it). There is only one article of clothing that the subject is wearing and it is a piece of jewellery, a golden ring on her right hand (the ring finger).
One crucial component of the portrait is the contrast in colour between the milk and Goldberg’s skin. Being African American, Goldberg’s skin is dark, which contrasts beautifully with the off-white of the milk.
According to Leibovitz, the image was inspired was one of Goldberg’s stage routines in which she plays a little black girl who used Clorox (bleaching agent) to wash her skin in an attempt to make it white.
Leibovitz, when photographing