Untitled (portrait of boy with measuring tape on coat) c. 1950

This is a photograph, a portrait of a boy with a measuring tape on his coat, by an artist called Robert Burian. In this black and white shot, Burian's approach to light is key, with the negative image allowing the viewer to really focus on tonal variations. The material quality is interesting, because, of course, it's a photograph. It has a certain flatness to it, but within that, there’s detail in the boy's striped coat, the shiny bow tie, even the measuring tape on his lapel. It gives it a strong, tactile presence. Look closely at the boy's eyes and smile; Burian uses the negative image to create an unnerving visage, something strange and otherwordly. It reminds me a little of Diane Arbus, actually, but with a kinder feel. Like Arbus, Burian highlights the beauty in the mundane, and reminds us that art is a constant conversation between artists, across time and space, about how we see and experience the world.