Sergeant Patrick McCaffrey 2014

Binh Danh created this image of Sergeant Patrick McCaffrey using a daguerreotype, a very early form of photography. Look at this surface, so silvery and reflective it’s almost like a mirror, and you can see how Binh Danh is interested in process. The image itself is a still life, a collection of objects clustered around a grave marker. There are personal effects and keepsakes, flowers and flags, all bleached out by the photographic process. The dark areas feel deep and rich, while the lighter areas have a ghostly quality. The whole picture has a strange, unsettling beauty. The cross, festooned with objects, stands out. Look at the way that the rosary hangs. What does the artist want us to think and feel about this man, about this war, about loss? It’s not about answers, but about questions. It reminds me a bit of Gerhard Richter’s photo paintings. Art is about making something new from what has come before.