Double Portrait, San Francisco 8 - 1938

John Gutmann made this photographic double portrait in San Francisco, and right away you’re struck by how the woman and the viewfinder become almost one entity. It’s all about seeing, right? The textures here are amazing. Look at the way the light plays across the pebbled surface of the viewfinder. It’s almost like a field of tiny dots, each one catching the light in its own way. And the woman's face, the way the shadows define her features, her gaze fixed on something beyond the frame, this kind of interplay creates a sense of depth. Then, there's that little nozzle that is the coin slot, and it’s like the mouth of the whole apparatus. It brings the whole thing to life, in a slightly comedic, maybe even absurd way. Gutmann, like other artists of his generation, I’m thinking of someone like Helen Levitt, was so good at finding these kinds of unexpected juxtapositions, the poetry of everyday life. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, an ongoing exchange of ideas.