Al Sweetman 1975

"Al Sweetman" is a 1975 black and white photograph by Mike Mandel, a conceptual artist known for his photographic explorations of the everyday. The image presents a cropped portrait of a man, seemingly a baseball player, holding a glove with his name printed across the top in bold letters, mimicking the format of a baseball card. This work, part of a larger series, plays with the conventions of portraiture and the commonplace nature of trading cards. Mandel's work often comments on the mass media and consumer culture, highlighting the everyday objects and figures that surround us.