Jean Toomer 1925

Here's a photograph of Jean Toomer by Alfred Stieglitz. I wonder what Stieglitz saw in Toomer's gaze? He's got his chin up, and his eyes are focused on something beyond us, and beyond the frame of the picture. There’s such a feeling of hope, or maybe ambition, in that upward glance. You can see he's wearing a heavy coat with big lapels, like he's ready to face the world, or maybe even a harsh winter. It makes me think about the artist's life, always looking, always searching for some kind of truth, a new way to see, a new way to say it. And it reminds me that the conversation between artists never really ends. It's this ongoing exchange, this constant inspiring of each other. Stieglitz captured Toomer’s outward gaze for us, and now, we carry it forward, with all its questions and possibilities.