Faces #9 1998

Vibeke Tandberg made this photograph, "Faces #9," and I wonder, is it a painting too? Tandberg presents a portrait with a cool palette, focusing on the sitter’s expression. There's something kind of David Hockney about it to me, that coolness and a touch of the deadpan. Is it a photograph or a painting? In either case, it's about light and shadow, and the way they play on a face to reveal character, and the psychological landscape. I imagine Tandberg setting up the shot, adjusting the lights just so, searching for that perfect moment when the sitter's personality shines through. Maybe she was thinking about Rembrandt, who was the master of using light to create depth and emotion. Either way, artists are always talking to other artists, across time and space. It's one big conversation.