Self-Portrait with Leica c. 1931 - 1988

Ilse Bing made this self-portrait with her Leica camera; it's a study in light and reflection. Look how the world becomes a range of greys, blacks, and whites, each tone carefully placed. I love the textures here, you know? The curtain's soft folds, the cold metal of the camera. The photograph captures Bing looking into the lens, with another version of herself reflected in the mirror. This creates a play with perspective. The composition makes me think about how we see ourselves and how we want to be seen. There's a deep curiosity here, and the black and white only heightens that feeling. Bing's work has a similar kind of visual experimentation we see in Man Ray's photographs; both invite us to consider art as a conversation about seeing. I always look for that conversation in art, that kind of open-ended question, rather than a fixed answer.