“When one takes a photograph, one doesn’t think about saying anything in particular. One doesn’t think about making a statement but rather of creating something visual which can later bear a meaning that one didn’t intend to transmit-depending on the viewer’s interpretation but not necessarily on the photographer’s”
~ Manuel Álvarez Bravo(1902-2002)
With her back to the camera, a girl in a bright white cotton skirt peers into a circular black hole or window cut into a patterned wall with peeling paint. Her head is all but obscured by a wide brimmed hat that echoes the shape of the portal. She stands on her toes ever so tentatively, her bare right foot overlapping her left, as if she is trying to create her own stepping stair. Her right hand disappears into the void as she investigates the unseen contents within.
Why do I think this image by Don Manuel is so great? Because I never get tired of trying to penetrate its meaning. It is both haunting and mysterious. It is deeply poetic and extremely beautiful. I’m touched by it’s humanity, the vulnerability of her legs and her desire to look into a future which is unknown, which is something we all share.
