Closed Eye 1940

Nathan Lerner captured this image, called 'Closed Eye,' with a camera and film, sometime in the 20th century. The photograph is black and white; an image taken from life, suspended in shades of gray. I imagine Lerner, peering through the lens, trying to capture something about the human condition. Think about the intimacy involved in getting so close to someone's face, close enough to see the tiny hairs of their eyebrows, the delicate curve of their eyelashes. What does it mean to close one's eyes? Is it an act of surrender, of vulnerability? Or is it a moment of introspection, a turning inward to the realm of thoughts and feelings? I wonder if he considered the works of other photographers, like Alfred Stieglitz, who also sought to capture the essence of the human spirit through portraiture. Photography, like painting, is an ongoing dialogue across time. Each artist builds upon the work of those who came before, seeking to express something new while honoring the traditions of the past.