Portret van een man met een snor c. 1912 - 1916

This image of a moustached man was made by the American Automatic Photo Cy. I find myself looking at the tones in this small portrait, how they fall into the middle of the spectrum, hovering between light and shadow. It's the kind of limited palette that feels very particular and strange and beautiful. It's easy to think of artmaking as a decision-making process, but really it is all about a feeling for tone. Look at the tiny glints in his eyes and how they are echoed in the sheen of his suit. He has a strong jaw and thick hair, but the photograph's tonality renders him soft. The more I look at this photo the more I am reminded of August Sander. Sander's photographs also captured ordinary people and elevated them to icons. It's as if the camera itself has a way of revealing something about our shared humanity. In the end, art is about embracing ambiguity, leaving room for multiple interpretations.