apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

wow that is just horrible. If dad's "typical activity" is being on the phone, and you choose to put that on art featuring the family, that says a lot. Everyone doing their own thing makes the me think the family is very disengaged and isn't warm or affectionate at all. Overall it is a very cold image not a cute snapshot of family life. It looks like the kids are being ignored completely and the baby is just lying there. It would make me very uncomfortable to look at as a guest.

I think it's cute and very tongue-in-cheek. Sure if every picture of the family was like this, it would be sad, but as a witty piece of art, I like it and may just try and steal the idea!

Enamorada - I think you are taking it a bit too seriously.

The fact that the baby is lying on the floor like a blob (i.e., engaged in a typical activity for its character) made me giggle.

Agreed, caw261.
Most people spend more time at work than home, so it is probably accurate that dad is on the phone. It doesn't say it's representative of time together.

Family pic would be me in the kitchen (pregnant, and in my pj's even if a clock on the wall showed it was 3pm;), hubby on the phone, #1 reading, and #2 jumping off something he has no business being on in the first place.

Or, we could all get an IKEA print!

dad's hand on his head is priceless. hehe.

I like it--it makes me think of a "Fun with Dick and Jane" picture.

I don't really like it either...but I can't say exactly why. I think it reminds me of working at Sears Portrait Studio in high school. All of those horrible prints I had to stare at day after day...

I do like the idea of mis-matched chairs at a dining room table--especially the blue one.

i don't like it, either. why memorialize the mundane stuff? if i want to see my DH talking on the phone, i don't have to look at a portrait.
i'd rather see a special moment of family love & closeness than stare at a picture of my husband staring off & talking on a cell phone and my infant rolling around on the floor by herself while i ignore my children.

I think it's funny. Standard portraits are boring. Here we have a HUGE photo of mundane things most people wouldn't want to immortalize. If that were hanging up in my house I would chuckle every time I looked at it.

I think it is a great idea and such a fresh look at what a family portrait can be. Just because you are a family and love each other does not mean that you are not your own person even when you are together... this reflects it.

saltyc: Don't get me wrong, this collage isn't really my style either, but why not memorialize the mundane stuff - commemorate the everyday things that actually happen in your life? Would you honestly rather have a "special moment of family love & closeness" that was likely posed/staged by a photographer?

i like it. great composition, good white space, fun.

If the portrait is going to be that huge, it had better not be a cheesy one with everyone smiling in an uncomfortable pose. This wouldn't be my pick exactly, but I'm glad they took a risk. Also, if I see one more family portrait of everyone in the family wearing white shirts, khaki pants, and and standing on beach with pasted smiles I'm going to scream!