James Joyce 1928

Berenice Abbott made this photograph of James Joyce, probably with a large format camera to get such a range of tones. The image hovers, for me, between capturing a likeness and something more abstract, a play of light and dark. Look at the way the light falls across Joyce's face and hat, creating a subtle gradient from highlight to shadow. Abbott coaxes so much information from these subtle tonal shifts. The soft focus gives everything a slightly dreamy feel, like a memory or a half-remembered dream. I’m interested in how the slight blurriness pushes it away from mere documentation. In some ways this makes me think of Gerhard Richter's blurred paintings from photos, where the act of painting becomes a way of questioning the truth and reliability of the image. Both artists are interested in how much information we actually need, or want, to get a sense of something. I find it reassuring when an artist leaves space for my own imagination.