Tracey Horne, "Pick", Angola, Louisiana 11 - 1999

Deborah Luster made this intimate portrait, "Pick", of Tracey Horne in Angola, Louisiana, using the tintype process. It’s a direct, head-on view, and the limited tonal range gives it a kind of solemn gravity. The surface has that particular sheen you get with tintype, a metallic depth that feels both old and immediate. Look at the way the light catches in his eyes. It’s so subtle, but it gives the picture life. You can see Luster working with the process, not against it; embracing the imperfections, the soft focus, all those subtle shifts in tone. That small imperfection on the lower right corner of the photograph is really interesting; it’s like a mark of authenticity, a reminder that the process is fallible. Thinking about this image I am reminded of the photographer, August Sander, and his unflinching portraits of the German population. Both artists see photography as a way of documenting people, but also of revealing something about the human condition. The process, the way they handle light and shadow, creates the emotional space.