Nellie â€?Downtown LA â€?1969 1969

Curator: Dennis Feldman's gelatin silver print, "Nellie Downtown LA 1969," captures a haunting interior scene. What strikes you first about this image? Editor: The melancholy is palpable. The face on the television seems to absorb all the light, leaving the room in a somber shadow. It feels like a portrait of isolation. Curator: Indeed. The television, a symbol of mass communication, here presents a solitary face, suggesting the paradox of connection and alienation. Notice also the pill bottles lined up, almost religiously, on top of the set. Editor: The face on the TV looks like some kind of oracle. I mean, it's eerie, like the house is listening to it. I think this piece is about the cultural imprint of technology on the mind, or the soul, or whatever... Curator: Perhaps. Feldman offers no easy answers, just a disquieting image frozen in time. It does invite us to consider how media shapes our individual and collective consciousness. Editor: Absolutely. I can't shake the feeling that this piece is more relevant now than ever.