Jon Gould 1980 - 1985

This photograph of Jon Gould was taken by Andy Warhol, but the date is unknown. It shows a man on a beach, drying his face, and it is rendered in a sparse black and white. I think about the moment Warhol decides to click. What was it like for Warhol to see and feel this image emerging in the darkroom? The photograph creates a visual language that allows Warhol to emphasize certain qualities that grab his attention – the texture of the sand, the shadow cast by the figure, the details of Gould's body, and the subtle gradations of light and shadow. Warhol creates his own way of seeing the world and invites us into his view, which echoes the work of so many other photographers and painters. Artists are always in conversation, and they help each other to see things in new ways. Each brushstroke or click of the camera is a question, an experiment, and a discovery.