Masked Boy on Trike, West Oakland, California after 1963

Joanne Leonard shot this gelatin silver print, "Masked Boy on Trike, West Oakland, California," and like all good photographs, it has a directness to it, a simplicity. But the longer you look the stranger it gets. The high contrast monochrome gives the scene a documentary feel, but also an otherworldly feel, like a memory. The boy and his trike sit low in the frame. The circle crops in at the edges, obscuring some of the context like a peep hole. There’s a tension in the composition, between the solid form of the boy and his bike, and the implied motion. The slight blur of the wheels suggest movement. The mask is the focal point, a stark white skull, simultaneously playful and macabre. It obscures the boy's humanity but also becomes a symbol of it. I'm reminded of Diane Arbus and her portraits of children; Leonard shows us that masks aren't just about hiding, they're about revealing something, too.