Mike Bishop 1975

This little photograph by Mike Mandel, it’s like a baseball card, is a study in capturing a moment, isn't it? You have to imagine Mike Bishop posing with his mitt, that cap with the ‘A’ sitting just so, as a moment suspended in time. I wonder if Mike Bishop knew he would be immortalized like this? And Mandel, what was he thinking? For me, the magic lies in the flat, almost deadpan way it's presented. The black and white gives it a timeless feel, and all the information is right there, like a label. It reminds me of Ed Ruscha’s photo books, where the everyday becomes art. It's like Mandel is saying, ‘Here’s Mike Bishop, baseball player, forever frozen in this pose.’ And in that simplicity, there’s a kind of beauty, like the artist is having a conversation with all the other artists who are making this kind of work. It all speaks to this thing that lives beyond language.