Ballet "L'Errante", Paris 1933

Ilse Bing made this photograph, "Ballet L'Errante," in Paris, using, I assume, a camera! The tones are so soft, almost like charcoal. The grays blend into each other, nothing is really defined, and it's more like a feeling than a picture. The dancer, she's a dark shape, bending and reaching, but the shadows are almost as strong as she is. There's a ladder behind her, also a shadow, leading nowhere. It makes me think about how nothing is fixed, everything's moving, like the dancer, like the light. It's about finding balance in the blur, about the in-between spaces. Bing doesn't give us all the answers; she lets the mystery stay alive. This reminds me of some of Francesca Woodman's images, the way she played with blur and movement, making the body disappear into the space. Both artists seem to be interested in the ephemeral nature of existence, capturing a moment that's already slipping away. It's like they're saying, look closely, because it won't be here for long.