Untitled 1985

Ralph Gibson made this photograph, Untitled, using gelatin silver. It's a study in light and shadow, almost entirely black, but somehow full of detail. The man’s face is obscured by a cloth, it's edge neatly serrated. It could be a painting canvas, perhaps it’s the accoutrement of the artist. This is a photograph, but it feels like painting, where darkness can be as important as light. There's something kind of funny about the hands, one holding the material over his head, the other holding glasses. The suit is dark, formal and textural, the crisp lines of the vest and tie. The light catches his wedding ring, a small beacon in the darkness. The whole composition is full of tension. I’m reminded of some of Robert Mapplethorpe’s earlier black and white portraits. Both artists know how to work with contrast and how to make the unseen as important as what is shown. It invites us to imagine, to question. It’s a conversation, not a statement.