The work I chose to do my art analysis on was a photo of Clint Malarchuk, a Buffalo Sabres goalie from 1988-1992. In the photo, shot by Craig Melvin, Malarchuk is shown bleeding profusely from his jugular after being cut by an opposing player’s skate.
As the title card reads, “on March 22, 1989, Steve Tuttle of the St. Louis Blues collides with goaltender Clint Malarchuk of the Buffalo Sabres. Tuttle’s skate cut the goaltender resulting in a partial cut of the jugular vein. Malrachuk’s life was saved by Sabres trainer Jim Pizzutelli and doctors in attendance at the NHL game in Buffalo.”
I found this photo in the gallery of the Regina A. Quick Art Center named “Figures of Speech.”
What I took away from the name of this gallery and the piece as a whole was this; What is being said when nothing is being said at all? How do we as communicators get a point across when we aren’t able to use words to put things into context?
In the photo, a shell-shocked Malarchuk on his knees grabs for his neck while a river of blood spews from it, pooling on the ice beneath him. This alone says so much.
In the photo, Malarchuk is clearly in distress as he’s unsure what’s going on and if he’ll be alright while the nearly 14,000 fans in attendance look on.
The photo doesn’t show the fans or reactions of others, but instead is a close-framed shot of the goalie.
Going off my interpretation of the galleries intent, I found myself asking the question “what is really being said when nothing is being said at all” when looking at the piece.
In the photo, Malarchuk is speechless and it’s not implied if anyone around him is speaking or not, but by looking at the piece I can imagine the bigger scene going on around the injured goaltender.
This is what’s being said when nothing is being said at all, I can’t see any of it happening, but I can almost guarantee (I’ve seen the video of the incident happening) that players around Malarchuk are signaling for the training staff to rush over to help him and fans and broadcasters alike look on in shock and disgust.
This piece fits in perfectly with conversation about the relationship between art, images, remix and commodification. The shot of Malarchuk says so much without saying anything at all, and that’s the understanding behind this photo.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and they’re right.
In this photo’s case though, a picture may be worth the 14,000+ words coming from the fans, coaching staff and players that watched the horrific event unfold at Buffalo’s Memorial Auditorium.
Surrounded in the gallery by other pieces from an array of religions, cultures and parts of the world, this piece may be one of the most telling.
Instead of just being a picture of a professional athlete the picture showcases the humility and vulnerabilities everyone faces.