The photographer I have decided to analyse for this blog post is Eugene Richards as well as his book “Cocaine true, cocaine blue” the book entails the effects of crack cocaine and drug abuse over 3 communities. One is in east New York the other in Philadelphia and the red hook housing projects which is in Brooklyn New York. Eugene’s photographs exceed imagination. To illustrate my opinion, I would like to evaluate the following quote “But we had no intention of trying to catch people dealing or using drugs secretively. We were going to play it up front, head-on. We weren’t going to hide people’s faces.” The reason I have chosen Cocaine true cocaine blue is because I thought it would be the perfect series for me to explore the semiotics and signification displayed throughout in Eugene’s work.
Semiotics- “The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.” In other words, this is the study of adding meaning to your body of work as well as using symbolism and applying theory in executing it well.
Denotative meaning: the literal face-value meaning of a sign
Connotative meaning: all the social, cultural, and historical meanings that are added to a sign’s literal meaning
Denotation – This photograph presents a woman smoking out of a crack pipe and a baby crying
Connotation – The crying baby represents child neglect and how drug abuse breaks families apart.

Denotation – This photograph presents a child aiming a gun at another child, rough settings
Connotation – This is just a reflection of their reality. Violence and gun crime is something that is prevalent in poor neighbourhoods. This is an example of how the cycle works in the neighbourhoods that Eugene is exploring. In this picture you can see a small child holding a toy gun and displaying the shooting motion. This, I feel is a depiction of their reality.