Kenny Raider, San Francisco Possibly 1973 - 1994

Richard Gordon made this black and white photograph, "Kenny Raider, San Francisco", sometime during his life, likely with a film camera. It’s a study in contrasts, playing with levels of reality. We see Kenny, in the foreground, sporting a wry smile. The texture is flat, but it’s the composition that creates depth. The play of light and shadow gives form to Kenny’s features, and the man behind him in the poster. That poster looks like it's tacked up on the inside of a window, and the glass, or plastic sheeting, over it gives it a kind of aura, like it's some kind of sacred memory. Look at the details: the way the light catches Kenny's eye, or the subtle pattern of his shirt. Gordon used these details to create a portrait that's both intimate and thought-provoking. It reminds me a little of the work of Lisette Model, another photographer who found beauty in the everyday. Ultimately, the photograph embraces the ambiguities of seeing and being seen.