Portfolios > Noir City

The Letter
The Letter
Archival pigment print
14in x 18in

1988 | 2014

The letter came in a film noir moment, slid under the model’s door, interrupting the photography session – a friend of a friend whose headshots were making their way around the City. Her home was already dark, already required lamplight for reading.

In the opening of the envelope, her shadow shifted on the wall. An empty letter and petty cash – two fives – to what purpose? The spit on the sidewalk? The last word? The composition was replete with dualities the photographer knew well. Harsh highlight; deep shadow. Foreground figure; background set-piece. Also present, under the surface: Pain; relief. Grief; hope.

The shooter took his shot, and the moment perched in the air, the static suspense between two eras: the before waiting for the after, the slug of life in motion and the exhale to something new.

––Narrative written in collaboration with Jacquelyn Spangler, 2017