Lt. "Wild Bill" William Walker, former college athlete, in the cockpit of a P39, Selfridge Field, Michigan ("All clear—Contact.") 1943

Gordon Parks made this gelatin silver print, "Lt. 'Wild Bill' William Walker...", a pilot in Selfridge Field, Michigan. Just imagine Parks in the act of taking this shot, finding the perfect angle to capture William Walker, the light just so. I imagine him thinking about how to compress the feeling of possibility and pride in a single frame. The texture is incredible. Look at Walker's skin and helmet, smooth but creased by experience. The light catches his face, highlighting the slight smirk, like a glaze on clay. It reminds me of other portraits that capture an individual's complexity and potential—the works of Dawoud Bey and Deana Lawson come to mind. They are all invested in how an image can empower the subject. It’s amazing how artists, through different eras and media, build on each other's work, creating a visual conversation. It suggests that art isn't about having the final say, but about keeping the dialogue going.