Angola, Louisiana 24 - 1999

Editor: This is Deborah Luster’s piece, “Angola, Louisiana,” created in 1999, a mixed-media work using photography. The tintype gives the subject a feeling of… timelessness, perhaps? Almost like an historical document. The man looks so solemn, and is holding a carving of an eagle and the word 'Liberty'. What layers do you see in this piece? Curator: It hits me right here. *places hand on chest* Luster, she sees the incarcerated not just as inmates, but as people – image-bearers, really – holding onto hope and even… patriotism, bizarrely. See how the carving is rough-hewn? Makes you think about the hours spent on it. It’s…it’s aspirational, that image of the eagle. And the subject’s gaze...it's a confrontation. It demands respect and acknowledgment. Do you see any echoes of earlier portraiture? Think about Civil War photography. Editor: You’re right, there’s a strength to the pose and the directness of the gaze that is similar to Civil War portraiture. But those photographs, I think, are about documenting, whereas Luster is trying to… redeem, maybe? I see how the carving provides a bit of agency. Curator: Agency. I love that word here! It’s him reclaiming… something. What that is, I can't precisely articulate. Maybe it's simply reminding us he *is* somebody. Or reclaiming the idea of Liberty. Editor: That interplay between freedom and incarceration becomes so powerful. So, it's the act of photographing, the tintype process, that older process, alongside the eagle sculpture which altogether challenges conventional thinking, right? Curator: Exactly! And don't underestimate the power of that raw, unrefined quality of the carving, especially with 'Liberty' boldly stated. It suggests striving, working, even while confined. We expect penitence perhaps, or at least shame, but there’s this refusal. Remarkable. Editor: This gives a lot to consider beyond my first reaction.