Gloria Dauphin 1993

This photograph, "Gloria Dauphin" by Nancy Andrews, captures a moment filled with quiet intensity. The artist, Andrews, makes a connection between the viewer and the subject, Dauphin. I imagine Andrews' experience with the subject. The light is doing something really interesting here, like a painter trying to get it just right. It’s as if the light itself is another character, revealing and concealing aspects of the scene. The way Dauphin is captured, with her gaze slightly off, suggests a narrative, a story that’s just out of reach. It reminds me of other photographers who focus on the everyday, like Nan Goldin, but Andrews brings her own sensibility. You can see the influence of documentary photography, but there’s also something very personal and intimate about it. It’s like Andrews is saying, "Look, this is life, messy and beautiful." Each photograph is a philosophical inquiry, inviting us to see the world in a new way.