Untitled (photograph of Gittings photo: "Portentous Shadow") c. 1970

Paul Gittings made this photograph, titled "Portentous Shadow," and it's like stepping into a film noir, isn't it? There's a real sense of drama here, all achieved through light and shadow play. Gittings isn't just documenting a person; he's crafting a mood, a story. It's like he's saying, "Here's a figure, but what about what lurks beside them, what they can’t escape?" I can’t help but think of artists like Hannah Höch and the surrealist photographers of the 1920s and 30s when I look at this. They were all playing with similar ideas of dreamscapes. But where some Surrealists might go for the bizarre, Gittings keeps it grounded, somehow making it even more unsettling. It shows how effective simplicity can be. It leaves you with questions instead of answers, which, let's be honest, is what makes art interesting.