The Huntress with Buck

The Huntress with Buck

David Chancellor’s portrait of The Huntress with Buck explores the “complex relationships between animals and humans” (Osborne 2014, p.68). It documents the game hunting industry in parts of East Africa that began at the dawn of 20^th Century. While the gaming industry has become a controversial industry in Africa, it is still a source of government revenue, generating more than $ 200 million annually. From the portrait, Chancellor’s documentation of big game hunting is clear, given that he had an exclusive access to the pseudo-wilderness savannah reserved for such kind of tourism. The Huntress with Buck is contemporary because it captures modern aspects of art such as the use of a camera and staging of real life characters.

            The photograph forms part of a wider narrative extending to the hunter’s trophy room and taxidermy process. In fact, this image (together with his other meticulously detailed images) offers an insight into the wildlife industry through the exploration of issues such as the ethics of unconventional tourism, the conservation efforts, and the welfare of wild animals. The Huntress with Buck portrait is the most striking in his photograph series because it shows Josie Slaughter, a 14-year-old Alabaman girl on her maiden hunting trip in Southern Africa.

            In the photograph, the bush is behind the young huntress while the sky is turning from day to dusk. She grips the deer tightly on her horseback as his body hangs helplessly over the horse’s neck. On the other hand, the horse faces away from the camera. The huntress’s facial expression indicates her seriousness, lack of remorse, and a burning desire to kill the helpless animal. Nevertheless, a significant number of analysts consider the portrait as beautiful and powerful.

The photographer continues his tradition of portraiture in The Huntress with Buck because he captures the “mood, personality, and expression” of Josie Slaughter and her horse (Lawrence-Lightfoot and Davis 2013, p. 14). In particular, he focuses on Josie’s face, although he includes the background details and context. The young woman has red hair. Besides her tender age, she poses calmly but proudly on a horse beside a large dead buck mounted on a horse. As she holds the African deer’s horns, with one assured hand, any observer can unmistakably the wound that led to the animal’s demise. As a result, it is easy to recall the violence of the bullet’s impact on the beautiful and innocent animal. Irrespective, everything in the portrait seems to be at peace, including the horse. Symbolically, the big game’s sunset implies the dawn of a delicate huntress.

            According to the photographer, Josie Slaughter had hunted the deer earlier as her buck and was on her way back to the camp. Intrigued by the contrast of tranquillity and peace of the location, the dead buck, and the teenager’s ethereal beauty, David Chancellor saw an opportunity for exploration. Against the stunning sky and background, Josie looks impressively onto the camera while holding up the deer’s antlers to prevent a lifeless flop over the horse’s neck. Therefore, it is arguable that the photographer wanted to explore the complex and intricate relationship between the animals and man and how each party struggles to adapt to environmental changes.

            He spent 48 hours with the teenager and her family. In addition, Chancellor used Mamiya camera and Kodak 160VC film to shoot one of the best photographs of 2010. It explains the painterly quality of light and clear contrasts between different background elements. Furthermore, the photographer admits that he derives the inspiration from Africa’s serenity, natural beauty, and diversity of wildlife and cultures. He also says “once you are bitten by the continent, you never recover” (Osborne 2014, p.69). And for an artist or photographer, the light is indescribable.” Moreover, he acknowledges that while hunting is an emotive subject, he sees the importance of maintaining focus on his reportage. During the capture of sensitive and emotional images such as this, he aims to remain detached. However, in reality, it is nearly impossible.

            The Huntress with Buck utilizes an environmentalist approach because it depicts the subject in her leisure environment. He shows her after a hunting adventure, holding her trophy. At the same time, there is a sense of irony, given the extensive conservation efforts in place in most African countries. While wildlife activists focus their attention on restricting the hunt of endangered and threatened wildlife, professional hunters including the 14-year-old commit their resources on hunting expeditions in Africa. Therefore, this image arouses the observers’ emotions to sensitize the public on the need for reconsideration of gaming laws. In this way, the image bears social and historical significance since it is a primary information source. The Huntress with Buck, according to photography experts, is a haunting combination female teenage innocence and power equivocal to modern-day Diana, the goddess of hunting.  

            It is true that the photographer had once shot a tracker with a hunt in the same location. However, Josie is different because of her fragility and strength. Besides, the photographer intended to explore an existent sense of vulnerability of both the buck and the teenager. The lighting was appropriate given the limited cloud cover and an original pose of the subject. Jose is unaware of her looks at the time of capture because of the huntress’s adrenaline common after a game expedition. As a significant portrait element, the horse allows Josie Slaughter (the main subject in the portrait photograph) to sit in an elevated position. The excellent timing of the shot reveals grand and statuesque elements that evoke goddess Diana’s iconography often depicted with a deer in mythology.

Despite the historical relations, the photographer retained contemporary originality and creativity through the use of fill-in light and a contrasting theme. In addition, the girl has modern gaming wear associated with hunters on an African safari. Josie Slaughter sits on the horse and looks down on the camera. Further, David Chancellor manipulated the photograph slightly to increase the brightness or aura of the teenage huntress. Hence, the camera’s low vantage point coupled with her elevated position retained the portrait’s originality. According to Muller (2011, p. 284), “visual culture and iconography of equestrian statues depicted military leaders, knights, and Greek gods”.

 The central relationship is between the dead buck and the huntress and not between the 14-year-old and her horse. Considering this, there is clarity in symbolism in that the buck is dead and the horse is alive and both are animals. In fact, their bodies cross each other where the huntress sits. In as much as she is a nurturer, she is a ruthless killer.

In essence, the teenage huntress is at a crossroad. She is neither a woman nor a girl. If the photographer fails to provide a caption, it is hard for an observer to clearly identify her gender due to her androgynous looks. The photo achieves an un-gendered performance only possible in the wild settings. The lighting further emphasizes the notion of ‘in-between’ in the gender representation since the sun kisses the horizon. It is neither night nor day. It is an element only captured during a low sunlight and affects the others (Danto and Goehr 2011 p. 61).  For a brief moment, all the photograph elements come visually together under a deep red colour.

Chancellor is interested in the “increasing human overpopulation and the resultant clash with the wildlife” (Hoare 2013 p.7). Therefore, he dedicates his photography such as the Huntress with Buck examines real hunts and their end result. Further, the captured photographs turn the spotlight on the benefits of local African communities from the hunters’ fee. Consequently, such images bring to life a sensitive topic that divides conservationists, hunters, and human rights activists. Interestingly, he does not make judgements on any of the parties but focuses on the clarity of his profession such that the images can allow for a reflection and a better understanding of the impact of the process by both sides.

Some of the hunters claim that the conservation efforts and hunting are mutually dependent. Hence, as an experienced photographer, he needs to be there to capture the hunter’s reaction during the immediate moment after a successful kill. Emotional reactions such as those exhibited by the 14-year old are common, though a strong disparity exists between males and females. It is essential to capture such moments to tell the part of the story exclusively.

In summary, it is clear that the photographer succeeds in including different element portraiture that includes the mixing of the modern genre with old traits characteristic of iconography. Most strikingly, he has an extensive knowledge on the importance of lighting during the moment of image capture. Elevation of the subject for creativity and originality and a focus on specific facial features qualifies the Hunter with Buck as an original piece of contemporary art (Danto and Goehr 2011).

References

Danto, A.C. and Goehr, L., 2011. After The End of Art: Contemporary Art and the Pale of History (Vol. 197). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 53-74. Print.

Hoare, R.E., 2013. Data Collection and Analysis Protocol for Human–Elephant Conflict Situations in Africa. Document Prepared for the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group’s Human–Elephant Conflict Working Group, Nairobi. pp. 1-26. Print.

Lawrence-Lightfoot, S. and Davis, J.H., 2013. The Art and Science of Portraiture. Jossey-Bass Incorporated Pub. P.13-16. Print.

Müller, M.G., 2011. Iconography and Iconology as a Visual Method and Approach. The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods, pp.283-97.

Osborne, M., 2014. 21st Century Portraits [Book Review]. Artlink, 34(1), p.68-77. Print.