John Blansett and His Mother, Ann 1993

Nancy Andrews made this photograph of John Blansett and his mother, Ann, sometime during her career. The stark black and white tones feel almost like a drawing, maybe charcoal, you know? It's that focus on value, shifting from light to dark, that guides your eye. The texture is smooth, almost polished, but then you notice the small imperfections, the grain in the image, which brings you closer to the realness of the scene. I keep coming back to the way John looks at his mother, that loving glance across the table. What is it about someone looking sideways that is so filled with emotion? I try to think about how I could do that same kind of gesture in a painting, what brushstroke or color could capture that feeling. Andrews' work reminds me a bit of Diane Arbus, that same curiosity about the human condition, that willingness to look closely. Ultimately, art is about seeing and feeling, and Andrews gives us a lot to think about here.