Untitled (Collaborators, St. Tropez, France) Possibly 1944 - 1985

This image, made by Constance Stuart Larrabee, captures a scene in St. Tropez, France, though we don’t know exactly when. It's a photograph, so the marks are made by light and shadow rather than paint, but the composition and tonal range gives it such a heavy feel. It's all in black and white, which flattens the space, making the figures press up against each other. The texture is defined by the grain of the film, giving it a gritty, documentary feel. Look at the hands holding the woman’s head as her hair is shaved, the light reflecting off the ring worn by one of the men. It’s a small detail, but the light catches it, making it stand out, a symbol of something, though I’m not sure what. This photograph reminds me of some of the work by photographers of the Farm Security Administration in America, artists like Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans or Gordon Parks. It speaks to the power of photography as a tool for bearing witness and recording difficult histories, even those that resist any one easy meaning.