Nathan Lyons 1975

Curator: The piece we're observing is titled "Nathan Lyons" by Mike Mandel, created in 1975. It's a collotype print from a photograph. The subject is a man holding up a large baseball glove. Editor: Right away, the glove dominates. It’s dark and looming, almost obscuring the man. There’s something confrontational about the stark, almost brutalist, composition. Curator: Well, consider the iconography. The baseball glove – a symbol of Americana, of competition, teamwork. But here it's isolated, presented almost as a shield. What does that evoke? Editor: I see that. But the glove's texture, that worn leather in high contrast, is compelling, not only aesthetically but for what it means. What is being protected, or rejected? Perhaps that is a false dichotomy! Curator: Maybe. Baseball also echoes with shared pasts, with the dreams of childhood. Yet it is simultaneously contrasted with what the shadow in his eyes may suggest about harsh realism and dashed hopes. I wonder what other signs, visual triggers might affect one’s reception? Editor: Speaking formally, the framing is quite unconventional, almost off-kilter, in stark opposition to other modernists or other modern works. Why do that? And doesn’t this also add to the disquiet I think a careful observer cannot help feeling when contemplating that odd mix? Curator: I agree, it unsettles the typical heroic framing. By placing the glove so prominently, Mandel deconstructs this trope, making us question these ideals and confront darker, maybe bittersweet cultural truths underneath. That darkness, for the time this came from, is definitely appropriate for much that followed. Editor: That the photographic method is then put onto collotype paper? Even more layers that suggest it is very worthwhile to probe! Thank you for revealing what makes this compelling from both perspectives. Curator: My pleasure! Thank you for adding depth to it. The discussion is as worthwhile as it is timeless.