The Rat Gallope Analysis

Boogie was born Vladimir Milivojevich in Belgrade, the capital of what was then Yugoslavia and now Serbia. Boogie began photographing the civil war that ravaged his country in the 1990s, which has influenced his body of work. His style is dark and reflects subject matters that he typically shoots such as city degradation, protests and portraits of “skinheads”. Boogie is famous for his street photography and currently lives in Brooklyn but travels the world for his photography. He has had multiple solo exhibitions in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Milan, Istanbul and Los Angeles.

The composition of the dangling dead rat of this photograph is repulsive and reflects the harshness of inner-city life. The use of black and white photography, rule of thirds, centered focus and straightforward angles focus forces the viewer to confront the rat head on. The rat is framed by the metal crosswalk sign with advertisements on the left and what appears to be an old factory building that has been converted into businesses on the right. This photo appears to have been taken during an overcast day and heavily utilizes the relationship between the rat in the foreground and cityscape in the background. I

The Sammy the Bull graffiti next to the rat is symbolic in nature if one is familiar with the story of Salvatore Gravano. Gravano (known as Sammy the Bull) was a former underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for being an FBI informant that helped bring down John Gotti, a famous and powerful mobster. Gravano’s informant relationship with the FBI was considered by many mob families as cowardly and an act of disloyalty, therefore using the term “a rat” to describe Gravano. Knowing this information makes the photo more humorous, disturbing and dark due to its connotations with mob