Joel Meyerowitz 1975

Here's a compact, monochrome image by Mike Mandel, a kind of portrait trading card from the 70s of the photographer Joel Meyerowitz. I can only imagine what Mike was thinking, making trading cards for photographers, riffing on baseball cards and heroes. The picture is a medium close-up, and it’s like, hey, here’s Joel, grinning, wearing a baseball cap and nylon jacket, caught off-guard. The tones are almost harsh, contrasting the white of the card with the strong shadows, but there is real generosity in the pose. I get the urge to create a series or collection of works, thinking about what it means to capture someone’s image, literally dealing with them. All of us artists are in a constant exchange with one another across time, inspiring creativity and finding new ways of expression.