The Rodeo: Candy Bell 1993

Nancy Andrews made this photograph, The Rodeo: Candy Bell, at an unknown date. It’s a black and white image, a kind of document, but it’s also clearly a study in expression. I’m looking at the woman’s face, and I feel like I’m getting a transmission of joy. It's something about the way she's leaning in, that open, toothy smile. And she's reaching out like she's trying to touch someone on the other side of the bars. I like how Andrews lets her hair fall onto the brim of her hat, cropping the image so the viewer's eye is immediately drawn to her expression. We are so in need of joyful moments. Perhaps this woman is trying to pass that joy on. I feel it. Don’t you? This photographer is talking to all photographers, asking, what is the role of our work in these dark times? Can we reflect the light?