Robert Doherty 1975

Editor: Here we have Mike Mandel's 1975 photographic print, "Robert Doherty." It's a black and white portrait and I find it quite striking. What initially grabs my attention is this somewhat bizarre object Robert Doherty is holding. How do you interpret this work? Curator: What an interesting question. The object itself reads as a blank signifier, doesn't it? A void mirroring a missing narrative, a concealed intent. Consider how the architecture in the background mimics this concealment; stately and present but devoid of warmth. It asks us to consider what is presented versus what remains unsaid. The symbols are right in front of us, the task lies in asking, what does it *not* mean to Robert Doherty? What cultural memories and emotions do these curated silences evoke? Editor: So, the emptiness is deliberate, like an open invitation? Curator: Exactly. It also reminds me of shields held up in portraiture to signify power or status, however it deliberately has none of the signifiers we expect to find, its purpose may not be defensive but one of stark presentation. What kind of shield reveals nothing but is held nonetheless? The composition deliberately unsettles expectations. How does that visual tension strike you? Editor: It's definitely thought-provoking. I initially saw it as awkward, but now I recognize the power of that uncertainty. It's less about *who* Robert Doherty is, but *how* we try to understand him based on these…voids. Curator: Precisely! It mirrors our constant construction of identity through fragmented signs. We attempt to see the figure through cultural association and memory. The picture is a stage of our assumptions about identity itself, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: Absolutely, I never would have looked that closely at it at first. It definitely reframes the entire photograph for me. Curator: It’s all there; history, anthropology, and a touch of psychological reflection bound in the same frame. Hopefully, it makes everyone see photographic portraiture in an exciting, new light!