Sulfite Figure in Spacescape 1961 - 1962

Carl Chiarenza made this gelatin silver print, Sulfite Figure in Spacescape, and it’s a reminder that artmaking isn't just about what you see, but how you see it. The blacks here are so rich and velvety, contrasting with the almost crystalline whites. There's a sense of texture, of things growing or decaying right on the surface of the paper. Look at the lower left, that patch of dense white lines looks like wild grass but also feels totally alien. It’s like Chiarenza is building a world, fragment by fragment, from stuff he found lying around. This photo feels like a conversation with someone like Minor White, who also found the sublime in the everyday. It’s like Chiarenza is saying that anything, even the most overlooked thing, can be a portal to another world if you just look close enough.