Collage c. 1956

Harry Callahan made this collage, well, sometime, using photography, paper and glue. It’s a grid, but it isn't flat or stable; it’s more of a shimmering field. Up close you see a chaotic puzzle of fragments, mostly women’s faces. I feel like I'm looking at a distorted mirror reflecting images of beauty standards or some weird beauty advertisement. The high contrast black and white and the cut edges give it a gritty, almost punk feel. Each little piece is carefully placed, but there’s a sense of randomness, like letting chance play a role in the final composition. It reminds me of the work of Hannah Höch and the Dadaists, who used collage to critique and disrupt traditional ideas about art and culture. Callahan’s collage feels like a comment on how we’re bombarded with images of women, all these fragmented representations shaping how we see ourselves and each other. It’s a mess, but maybe that’s the point.