Georgia O'Keeffe 1932

This gelatin silver print of Georgia O'Keeffe was made by Alfred Stieglitz at some point in their life together. There is a starkness to the tonal range, from dark blacks to bright whites. Stieglitz clearly loved making portraits of O'Keefe, and was said to have made over 300 of them. Looking at this image, I can't help but consider my own artmaking process and how it mirrors the way I see the world. It seems Stieglitz is using light here, to carve and shape O'Keeffe's face. The way the light catches the planes of her cheeks and brow suggests a deep knowledge of her form, and a deep connection with his subject. Think about the way a photographer coaxes an image from light-sensitive paper, much like a painter coaxes form from a blank canvas. I'm reminded of the portraits of Alice Neel, where a similar intensity of gaze meets the viewer. It is this kind of sustained looking that allows both artists to arrive at something new, something beyond a likeness, and deep into the interior of a person.