Monday, December 14, 2009

The winter leagues

Shooting black and white nudes is like attempting to hit a baseball to a brand new part of the field. People have been playing the game a long time. Any spot you aim for has been covered already, trust me. This is why I have a mental block against b/w nudes.

So how can I explain my reaction to Jason Langer's current show at Hartman Gallery featuring --what else?-- black and white nudes? I thought it would be a quick visit but I lingered. It was nice work. Somehow Langer had managed to hit the gaps. This photo in particular made me stop and look a while.

Figure no. 106, 2008, Jason Langer

The web doesn't really do it justice. In print the skin glowed like a diamond. And that perfect round breast! Looking at it I felt magnetized by my animal instinct. I became a winter bird pulled south. Is it ridiculous to compare that breast to a high fly ball at the warning track, suspended, not quite ready to complete its fall?

2 comments:

Stan B. said...

The web doesn't do it justice, but certainly hints at it. I'll leave the baseball analogies to Yogi...

Blake Andrews said...

Yogi Berra is responsible for the ultimate photographic truism:

"You can observe a lot just by watching."