Artificial Leg 1944

Editor: So, this is Frederick Sommer's gelatin silver print, "Artificial Leg," from 1944. It's haunting, in a way, a very textural black and white image. The leg seems suspended, almost floating. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Primarily, I see a study in form and contrast. Note the stark juxtaposition of textures: the smooth, almost clinical surface of the prosthetic against the rough, decaying background. It's not merely the object depicted but how it interacts with the visual space that intrigues. The composition directs the eye along a diagonal axis, emphasizing the break, the separation. Editor: The decay in the background feels deliberate, almost as if Sommer wanted to amplify the artificiality of the leg itself. Does that contrast contribute to its meaning? Curator: Indeed. Consider the use of light and shadow. The even lighting eliminates strong highlights, flattening the form and reducing the leg to a series of geometric shapes. Is Sommer highlighting the aesthetic of this sculptural form? Perhaps prompting us to analyze the shape before we consider it as an absent body part? Editor: So, you’re suggesting that he’s asking us to see the formal elements – the lines, shapes, and tones – independently of what they represent? To isolate its aesthetic qualities? Curator: Precisely. The photograph compels us to decipher its visual grammar, the syntax of its shapes and textures, before delving into narrative. What do you make of the orientation of the artifical leg? Editor: Interesting. It almost reads as if the leg is rising or falling, adding another layer to its already surreal quality. It feels…unfinished. Curator: Perhaps Sommer presents incompleteness, a perpetual state of becoming, as a fundamental aesthetic principle. Something for both of us to ponder.