"Shiphead," Angola, Louisiana 18 - 1999

Deborah Luster made this tintype, "Shiphead," at Angola, Louisiana. It’s a small, intimate object, not something you can get lost in like a big painting, but it has its own presence. The first thing you notice is the light. The image has been printed in reverse on a blackened piece of metal, and this creates a glow, like a memory. You can see Luster’s hand in the dark shadows, the slightly imperfect edges of the frame. It all adds to the feeling of something handmade, precious. Look at the man's face. There’s a softness there. A vulnerability. The arm with the white glove placed behind him is an unusual addition. Is it an assistant? This is like a painting in some ways, like Manet maybe, or even Goya, in the way it captures a person’s presence with so few strokes. But it’s also completely its own thing. It just feels deeply human.