Paracelsus 1957

Frederick Sommer made this photograph, Paracelsus, using gelatin silver print. The way the light catches on this figure emerging from the dark feels like the beginning of something, a process unfolding before your eyes. The stark contrast, the almost sculptural quality of the light, it's all about the physicality of the medium. Look at the torso, how the light seems to ripple across it, almost like liquid. You can almost feel the texture, the way the light pools and swirls. It reminds me of those moments in the studio when you’re wrestling with a painting, pushing and pulling the material around until something unexpected emerges. This piece feels related to some of Minor White’s abstract photographs, and yet it's utterly its own thing. Art isn't about answers, it's about the ongoing conversation, the questions we keep asking each other across time.