This photograph was taken by Werner Bischof. It is of a woman in Zurich, Switzerland in 1942, and is entitled "Zebra Woman." Though you cannot actually see the ground, the placement woman's foot and behind create a strict almost horizontal line, and give the photo a firm, structured foundation. The angle of her bent knee provides a triangular shape, also a sharp structured figure, but these lines are offset by the curve of her back and the curve of the shadow. We are not quite sure where the woman is, but the shadow of what looks like bars give the impression that she is caged in, trapped in some way. The lines of the bar shadows start at the bottom of the photo as horizontal lines, but transform with the curve of her back into vertical lines. It seems as though she is naked and we cannot see her face, so she becomes a universal figure, a representation. There seems to be a combination of structured concreteness, but also ambiguity and uncertainty.

~PeaNutButt4LIfe