Bill Jenkins 1975

This black and white photograph, simply titled "Bill Jenkins," was made by Mike Mandel, sometime around the 70s maybe? It’s got that vibe. I can imagine Mike setting up the shot, thinking about how to capture something real, but also something a little off. It's like he's saying, "Here's Bill, but who is he really?" The way Bill's holding that baseball bat, almost like he's not sure what to do with it, makes you wonder about the story behind the image. Is it a portrait? A statement? I'm reminded of other photographers from that era, people like Larry Sultan and Mike Disfarmer, who were also playing with ideas of identity, and challenging the line between fact and fiction. Ultimately, it's a mix of curiosity and connection that pushes artists to create, each piece a small step in the long history of image-making.