Carl Chiarenza 1975

Mike Mandel made this photographic print of Carl Chiarenza. There's something great about black and white photography. It strips everything back, showing how light and shadow can shape a face, a figure, an idea. In this image, Chiarenza is holding something, a baton or a tool, maybe, that cuts diagonally across the frame, leading your eye right to his face. The photograph has a grainy quality, which almost makes you feel like you could reach out and touch the rough texture of his beard or the corduroy of his jacket. There’s a density to the blacks that makes the lighter areas seem almost luminous, like the light reflecting off his glasses. Look at the way the light falls on his forehead. It's like a spotlight, drawing your attention to his expression. This portrait feels like a nod to August Sander, another photographer interested in depicting the human condition through portraiture. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is always in conversation, borrowing and building on what came before.