Untitled (Girl in contorted pose) c. 1910

This is a photograph, we don't know by whom, showing a figure in a field with a chair. It looks like one of those old-timey photos that has faded to nearly monochrome, so everything’s a little bit sepia-toned, a little soft, like it’s been sitting in the attic. The scene has this uncanny feeling, like something is not quite right. The figure is collapsed on the ground, contorted, draped in fabric. Her leg is bizarrely bent, with the foot resting on her head. It's a strange, unsettling pose. The neutral ground is a blur, but you can see the texture of the grass and the weave of the fabric, which adds a layer of physicality. The chair in the background makes me think of Whistler's mother, but far from the dignity of that painting, there is an off-kilter, unsettling quality here. It makes me think of Diane Arbus, who also found beauty in the unconventional, in the strange realities of life. Art embraces ambiguity, and this piece definitely leaves you with more questions than answers.