Untitled (picture of man pinned to wall) c. 1950

This photographic print of a man, made by Robert Burian, captures a portrait in the most unusual way! At first glance, the image is dark, almost like an X-ray, a negative that reverses what we expect to see. The palette is limited to shades of gray, white where there should be shadow, and black where it should be light. The surface is shiny, revealing the chemical processes involved in photography. Look at how the details of the man's suit and tie are rendered in a ghostly glow, while his features are cast in shadow, his eyes appearing as dark voids. A drawing in light. I'm reminded of artists like Christian Boltanski, who also used photography to explore themes of memory, identity, and loss. Like Boltanski, Burian seems to embrace ambiguity, inviting us to question what we see and how we perceive the world around us.