Jan Groover, Untitled, 1990.
bow and arrow. The forearm is peculiarly sheathed
in what is, in fact, a solid black tattoo, like a gauntlet.
Like J.P. Morgan's scepter, like Georgia O'Keeffe's
needle, the punctum of Hyland's photograph, the
fencepost, symbolizes power seized by the fist.
The subject of Hyland's photograph is a man, who
through an act of self alteration (tattooing) is making
of himself a living work of art, a transformation.
Hyland's photograph of a human hand, like those
of Stieglitz, Steichen and Rauschenberg, invite an
interpretation beyond the image of action; the hand
and its instrument, whether needle, notebook,
scepter or fencepost is a marker of spiritual power.
Art, like finance, requires aggression as well as
inspiration. The expression "hands on" describes all
four of the photographs mentioned here, powerful
images of the human hand wresting its creative
birthright from the darkness. H
Sotheby's will auction part of Henry Buhl's photography collection in December 2012.
HYLAND
