Denise Howard, St. Gabriel, Louisiana 27 - 2000

Deborah Luster made this photograph, "Denise Howard, St. Gabriel, Louisiana," with a camera and darkroom process, but it's not just a photo, it's more like a relic, an apparition. The sepia tone gives it a sense of age, as does the cracked surface, with its fine web of lines, like wrinkles on skin, that makes it feel like it has survived something, like a time capsule from a parallel universe. Look at the figure's hands, clasped together, almost as if in prayer, which contrasts with the grotesque mask, the bulging eyes, the tongue sticking out. This contrast isn't resolved, but it vibrates, like a dissonant chord, full of character. Luster's work resonates with that of Diane Arbus, in the way she elevates her subjects, who are often on the margins of society. Both artists show us that beauty can be found in the unexpected, and that art doesn't always have to be pretty to be profound.