The Angry Tongue
This image puts me on guard, ready for a struggle. Why does this configuration speak loudly of aggression and danger? The focal point suggests the middle digit of a primate hand — upraised and thrust toward us by a snarling alpha male. Or it could be the sharp angry tongue of a reptile. The out-of-focus elements threaten to explode in our direction. Our inability to see this background clearly is disorienting; it provokes alertness to potential jeopardy, perhaps a foreshadow of a forthcoming attack. Strangely for me this picture has sound effects — a person shouting; or an orchestra erupting with dissonance; the sounds seem to resonate among the most blurry zones in the photograph, evincing muscles and vibrating vocal chords about to reach a threatening crescendo.





