Stills

Now there is a room with character. It may be a cliche, but those chairs do (to me) invoke a sense of the people who once occupied them. Both grim and conforting at the same time.
 

I agree with Colin on this, the semi-presence of the workers, and the interesting insight that they do not have windows that can give them an outlook on the world, but restricted to what the company wants them to see. Nicely seen and the tonal values give it a good balance. Also, like the invisible clock in the earlier image, we have the invisible bullentin board.
 

The chairs certainly are holding this all together. An interesting layout for a meeting if nothing else. Also enjoying how the light moves from the front to the back of this shot. Without the chairs I don't think you'd have much of a picture at this angle though.
 

Due to the chairs the image conveys the same feeling of human presence/absence as commented by others .

I think I probably would have experimented moving the chairs around. I fancy moving a table forward with a chair behind and a 'random' row in front.
 

It is all about the chairs, although the perspective also plays a role. What does the blackboard at the end of the room say?

One of the impressive things about this series is the way the textures have been handled. To refer to an earlier discussion, these fit in a sub-class of cracked paint pictures, but unlike so many of those, these don't fail. I wonder why that is.
 

My answer to your ponder, Matt, is that this is a series and so one is looking beyond cliches. There may of course be other answers or, indeed, these may fail!!
 

Thank you for these most encouraging comments. As I said, these are years old and I have struggled to find a receptive audience to them.

All the things you notice are things I wanted to show, so it is very comforting. However, you are all photographers. Is this beyond the general public?
 

Is this beyond the general public?

I wouldn't use the word 'beyond' because that implies some form of hierarchy. But can you expect universal (or at least widespread) interest in something which is not-a-sunset? No, I don't think that you can.

If I showed this picture to my farming neighbours then they would get the content - but that content to them would likely mean a way of life that they have decided to avoid. Quite possibly they would be repelled by this picture, and would see no art in it.

My reaction to it is formed, at least partly, from having been in such places. Also from the training (call it what you will) resulting from looking at lots of pictures, and thinking about photography over an extended period.
 

A wonderful addition to your series, Stephane. The light and tones, sense of depth, and of course, the human interest added by the chairs make this possibly my favorite so far.

I've thought about your question concerning the public, and although Colin may be correct that it would not have a universal appeal, I think that there are many less "trained" eyes that would appreciate this. I'm basing that in part on my own reaction to it -- since I feel that I am probably the least "sophisticated" viewer here (I even still take photos of sunsets) ;-)
 

Avoiding questions as to who is, or is not, the least sophisticated viewer here, I would say that anybody who is interested enough to be here is in the upper cohort of viewers and observers. People who both think that it is important and who are trained, even if self trained, in the art of it.

I'm not suggesting that there are great unwashed masses of unsophisticated viewers - far from it - but I am suggesting that there is self selection going on. Which is how I took Stephane's comment however, you are all photographers.

As for sunsets - I think I'm beginning to forget what the sun looks like. Right now, I'd happily be viewing a sunset :-)
 

Colin -- I did not say that to denigrate myself, -- I simply have not been making photographs "seriously" for all that long and i don't have the degree of "training" that you have. I think I am getting some of it by being here!

I can probably oblige you with a sunset shot here -- or would that be cruel?