ANALYSIS- WILLIAM EGGLESTON- 'BLEED AMERICA'

I first saw William Eggleston’s photograph when actually looking at the album art for the Jimmy Eat World record, ‘Bleed American’. Only after reading the title of the album, it was then that I began to understand what the photograph connotes. William Eggleston was one of the first photographers to use color film, at the time of which was considered amateur. However, when beginning to produce his work, and even further enhancing the colors in post production/ the darkroom, Eggleston had began to make it possible for color film to be taken seriously alongside the classic and iconic black and white photography. The photograph displays trophies, a connotation of the obsession of rivalry the USA has to be the best, whether it is with their military, their politics or as a county made for the ‘free’. The image itself seems very haunting in the way in which the trophies loom over the jukebox, a connotation of the way in which these mass achievements over take other mediums, such as radio and media outlets. The photograph is meaningful in the way in which it documents the obsession of both power and success the USA has become. The record later was changed to ‘Jimmy Eat World’, as it was due for release at the same time 9/11 had taken place.