Georgia O'Keeffe 1932

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph of Georgia O'Keeffe sometime in his lifetime. Looking at this portrait, I wonder what Stieglitz was thinking. What was it like to be so close to O’Keeffe? The way he has captured her, the stark contrast, the shadows playing on her face, it makes me think about intimacy and distance. You know? How close can you really get to someone, and what parts do you choose to reveal? The light almost seems to want to expose her, but the shadows whisper secrets. It makes me think about other portraits, maybe by someone like Alice Neel, where you feel the artist really *sees* the person, not just their surface. Painting and photography, both trying to capture a person, a feeling, a moment. And all artists, like Stieglitz and O'Keeffe, continue to play with seeing, being seen, and revealing ourselves.