Jose Clemente Orozco, New York City Possibly 1933 - 1981

Ansel Adams made this photograph of José Clemente Orozco in New York City. I look at this photograph and think about the dialogue between artists, across their different media. Adams captures Orozco with such intensity. Look at those eyes, magnified by his round glasses! You see the ghost of a window frame reflected there, a hint of the outside world. Orozco must have been a fascinating character, an artist in dialogue with his time, known for his murals which powerfully convey human struggle and political messages. In this portrait, Adams captures Orozco's seriousness, maybe even a little of that intensity that Orozco brought to his own work. It makes me think of how artists are always looking, always responding to the world around them, and to each other. And how each portrait, each work of art, is a kind of conversation across time.