Kara 2007

Editor: We're looking at Chuck Close's "Kara," a 2007 gelatin-silver print. It’s a silhouette portrait, starkly contrasting black against white. It's incredibly striking, but also feels…incomplete, almost like a shadow. What stories do you think it is telling? Curator: This image vibrates with absences and presences. The silhouette, an age-old form, historically signifies not just the individual, but also a kind of ‘every-person.’ Given that Close often worked with portraiture, the deliberate flattening into silhouette makes me wonder: What does he choose to reveal by concealing? It triggers a dialogue with cultural memory – the shadow as both intimate and unknowable. What associations does it evoke for you? Editor: It definitely brings to mind ideas of identity, how much we choose to show versus what remains hidden. The stark contrast enhances that feeling of duality. I’m curious about how you see cultural memory working here specifically. Curator: The monochrome and stark silhouette call to mind early photographic techniques but strips away the specificities of detail. Think of Plato's Cave - do we see reality, or merely shadows? The choice of the gelatin silver print grounds it in photographic history while simultaneously abstracting the sitter to a nearly universal form. The shadow self – what Jung called the repressed aspects of our personality. Is Close suggesting a confrontation with that ‘other’ within the individual, or perhaps society's own shadows? Editor: That's fascinating – the psychological layers are something I hadn't fully considered. So, the silhouette isn't just a stylistic choice; it's a loaded image in itself. Curator: Precisely. It resonates with symbolism that spans centuries. By playing with this well-known visual symbol, Close prompts us to question the very nature of representation and the enduring power of images to hold multiple, sometimes conflicting, meanings. It reflects the interplay between seeing and understanding. Editor: I see it in a completely new way now. Thank you!