Fa alatt (Kata Kálmán) (Under a tree [Kata Kálmán]) 1932

Iván Hevesy made this photograph called "Under a Tree" and titled "Kata Kálmán" after the model, using I guess, a camera. Look at how the light and shadow play here. The high contrast turns the ground into a textured plane, like a painting, and the model is like a figure in a landscape. Her checkered dress mimics the grid of the photographic image itself. Think of Agnes Martin, but softer. The high contrast between the figure and the ground is striking, and the eye moves restlessly between the light and the dark areas of the image. The model’s pose – hands behind her head, eyes closed – suggests both vulnerability and a kind of defiant self-possession. It makes me wonder about the relationship between the artist and model. There’s a sense of intimacy, but also distance, the way her face is obscured. It's a negotiation between the one who is seen, and the one who is seeing.