Eye on Nails #2 1940

Nathan Lerner made this gelatin silver print titled "Eye on Nails #2." Imagine Lerner there in the darkroom, carefully layering the image of an eye over this field of upturned nails, repeating and recontextualizing. It's kind of unsettling, right? This image just sticks with you. The eye, so clear and focused, peeks out from this strange, harsh landscape. I wonder what he was thinking, what he was trying to say about seeing and being seen. It reminds me a little of some surrealist photography, you know? Like Man Ray, or even some of the weirder stuff coming out of the Bauhaus. They were all playing with perception, trying to find new ways of seeing the world. But this one's different; it's got this raw, almost punk edge to it. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation, pushing boundaries, and challenging us to look closer.