St. Gabriel, Louisiana 12 - 2000

Deborah Luster made this dreamy portrait, St. Gabriel, Louisiana, using the light-sensitive chemistry of a wet plate collodion process. Just imagine her in her darkroom with the smell of chemicals in the air. It's so material and hands-on, like painting. The image emerges slowly from a bath of silver nitrate, then fixed, washed, and varnished. What I love is the way the light is captured on the plate, the golden tones and deep blacks that give it this ghostly, timeless feel. It makes you wonder about all the portraits that have been made this way. The way the woman is posed, gazing off to the side, creates a sense of mystery. It is a view of the back of her head, her elegant neck, the straps of her dress, that all evoke this dreamy state, an intimation of the past. It reminds me of Julia Margaret Cameron and other early photographers who were trying to find ways to capture the soul of their subjects with these antique processes. It shows how artists today can keep that conversation going.