Sleeping Marcos 1989

Jim Goldberg made this photograph, Sleeping Marcos, and it shows a man at rest on a bed, a gun beside him. It's all captured in black and white. I wonder what Goldberg was thinking when he pressed the shutter. Did he want to emphasize the vulnerability of sleep, or the ever-present threat suggested by the gun? It’s heavy, this image – the weight of worry, the burden of protection. The blanket with its bold animal print hints at something primal, something maybe a little wild that can't be tamed. It reminds me of Nan Goldin's raw, intimate portraits. Both artists are drawn to the complexities of human experience, to the hidden dramas that unfold behind closed doors. Ultimately, I think artists invite us to really look, to see beyond the surface. They show us that there is no single way to interpret what we find, that feeling is more important than reading.