Jim Dean 1993

Nancy Andrews made "Jim Dean" as a black and white photograph and it captures the full figure of a man dressed in a suit. The man's gaze is intense, and there’s a certain sharpness to the lighting and shadows. I see a kind of stillness and formality, but also an attempt to look suave. There's something about this guy's carefully chosen bowtie that makes me wonder what he's trying to project. The man is surrounded by a geometric corridor. I wonder what it might have been like to be Nancy Andrews in this moment? Maybe she saw something fascinating in the contrast between this man and the built environment. Maybe she's poking fun at the idea of self-importance and aspiration. The artist may be in conversation with the tradition of formal portraiture. Every artist is, consciously or unconsciously, working in relation to what's come before. What do you think?