Phillip Barnes, Angola, Louisiana 11 - 1999

Editor: We’re looking at Deborah Luster’s photograph, "Phillip Barnes, Angola, Louisiana" from November 1999, a gelatin-silver print. The subject's gaze is so direct, and the setting... well, let’s just say it evokes a certain solemnity. How do you interpret this work? Curator: That direct gaze is everything, isn't it? For me, it cuts through time. Luster's portraits of incarcerated individuals aren't just documentation, they're acts of remembrance. Angola is the Louisiana State Penitentiary, once a plantation, now a prison built on that same land. The broom, the gaze... does it make you think of labor, of cycles? Editor: Absolutely. The broom, and the setting in general, does bring that to mind, along with a sense of the ordinary imposed on a harsh reality. So the setting plays a vital part here, as well as how it relates to labor performed at Angola, Louisiana State Penitentiary? Curator: It's impossible to separate the setting from the subject, or from the history of the place. It is definitely very poignant. What is not immediately obvious is Luster's specific approach, which, with this archaic photographic technique, becomes more urgent. Why do you think Luster opted for this older photographic style? Editor: Perhaps to echo a sense of timelessness or a historical connection, creating layers of past and present? The use of this technique also impacts my impression and how I perceive its message and themes. Curator: Exactly! The ambrotype roots us in the 19th century, yet this photograph is undeniably contemporary. It makes you consider how much has changed and, devastatingly, how much hasn’t. I wonder about Phillip Barnes too… Editor: I completely agree. Thank you.