Georgia O'Keeffe 1921

Here is Alfred Stieglitz's photograph of Georgia O'Keeffe. Look at that tonality, those browns and sepias. It's a study in subtlety. I imagine Stieglitz in the darkroom, coaxing these tones out, balancing light and shadow. What was he thinking as he developed this image of his wife and muse? Was he trying to capture her essence, her spirit? The way the light falls across her face almost feels like he is chiselling a sculpture out of light, like he is trying to capture something essential about her being. This portrait is so intimate. You can see the influence of photography on painting, and painting on photography. Painters and photographers are in an ongoing conversation. Each discipline informs the other, pushing the boundaries of representation and expression. This kind of portrait reminds us that making art is always about exchange. It embraces ambiguity and feeling in ways that allow for multiple readings.