Joseph Dittfeld 1992

This photograph by Nancy Andrews captures Joseph Dittfeld in a play of light and shadow. You can almost feel the artist experimenting with the frame, shifting her position, waiting for just the right moment to release the shutter. I'm immediately struck by the contrast: solid areas of dark ink are dissected by horizontal bands of light. The artist captures a likeness, but she also captures something deeper. I'm thinking about the conversations between the photographer and subject. A shared moment of vulnerability is etched into the grain. The soft tonal gradations capture something of his character. You get the sense they collaborated on this, and that the artist saw in Joseph, something of herself. It feels as though she is inviting us to reflect on the shared experience of being alive. Each photograph is like a brushstroke, building upon the next, as artists converse with each other across time, continuously inspiring and igniting each other’s creativity.