Fanny 1984

Chuck Close made this work called "Fanny" in 1984, and it’s hard to put my finger on exactly what medium it is, but it looks like a photograph with a grid overlay. I love how Close's work unpacks the relationship between mechanical reproduction and human touch. The grid, which is a very evident and physical aspect of the work, almost fights against the grayscale photograph. It is like Close has made a system to plot a likeness, and at the same time allowed for the freedom and texture of the human hand. Look closely and you can see the almost waxy surface of the photograph. Notice too, how the details of Fanny's face are rendered through the grid, yet the overall effect is deeply personal. It reminds me a little of Gerhard Richter’s blurred photographs. Both artists, in their own ways, push us to question how we see and understand images. For them, and for me, art is about that continuous questioning, that ongoing conversation.