Now a bit of graphic and photo editing.
The final composition , was stated, should have some text in it but not explicitly related to the main theme of the image.
My subject was the concept of duality of man: both aggressive and peaceful, builder and destroyer, barbarian and scholar...and how this duality transfers into human activities, like art. So I choose two photos from my archive: one a cerimonial plate of armor, exposed at the Ermitage, the other one the Michelangelo's David, in Florence, this photo is of the copy you can see in Piazza della Signoria. Two different pieces that mix aesthetic and aggresivity, even if in different ways and on different levels.
The armor is made for war, but aspires to a higher status than a tool and tries to became a sort of jewel: a master piece of highly skilled craftsmen, and in doing so looses the capability of beeing used for its initial pourpose, a cerimanial armor, usually, is not very good in real battles. On the other side the David. This is an icon of beauty and elegance, but in all its calm and self confidence, it represents a warrior that is going to face the hardest enemy he has ever met. So this statue can be seen as a message that points to a certain type of strength and use of the force that suits perfectly the context of the city where and at the time it was made.
For my pourpose they match greatly even the contrast between Giulio II and Michelangelo. The first one was a kind of pope quite unusual for today's standards: strong politician, leading campaign and battles, but lover of the beauty. The other a genius capable of giving a shape to the concept of beauty, transferring in it his strong, and aggressive will. Quite a match one for the other.
Lastly, the two images and their mix, match even the struggle of the single artist that tries to shape his feelings to create his art. Balancing the strength of the need of creating something, to the need of making it understandable and aestethically percetible.
So considering this three levels and points of view, I think it is quite clear why: 'Reality is never simple'.
Note: both the photo are modified to achieve a graphic style aiming to increase the contrast between the two halves, thus the use of the black and white. The background is a third photo from my archive: of a sunset sky whose colors increase the mood of urgency and struggle of the image.
