Leonard Freed 1975

This is a small black and white photograph of Leonard Freed by Mike Mandel. I like the idea of the portrait as a kind of uniform; the sweater and the baseball glove, the catcher’s mask… the city in the background looks like a prop in a play. I wonder what Mandel was thinking when he made this photograph. Was he reflecting on what it means to create an image? What does it mean to make a picture of someone who makes pictures? It’s like a mirror looking at a mirror. I see the exchange of ideas and inspiration that happens between artists, it’s an ongoing conversation across time. To me, a photograph is a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations. I get the sense that Mandel shares this view.