Picasso's "Girl Before Mirror" at the MoMA
Digital photograph with post processing
2007
On the series: Unless my psychology changes dramatically, I'm not a stealth photographer, not a street photographer. I have difficulty taking photos of people in unguarded moments, however public, I am hesitant to intrude--with the exception of the acknowledged public arenas of spots such as museums or tourist attractions, where everyone is gathered to look and see and I can stand in the open with camera poised and it's all right as we are all there to see and and look and are all of us essentially public but on the back burner, we are not the thing at which to be looked. Which is a nice time to catch people, when they are looking at rather than being looked at, when they are not so very self conscious, part of the background, and the camera is not something to be suspicious about but is an expected presence. The museum, with its white walls, becomes a little like a photographer's studio with a white backdrop. But I rather like to think of the people as being also the art. I have long thought a project I'd like to do is have an empty stand at a museum and encourage people to become momentary exhibits atop it and photograph them.
On this photo: I simply liked the idea of the girl before the girl before the mirror.
