Man Walking

More Information

In Man Walking, we see Carr's characteristic interest in construction sites and bustling urban environments. is a man striding away, his back to the camera. The street appears amid construction—netting, caution tape, and vertical barriers appear throughout. In the upper right corner, swirled construction netting appears weightless and on the verge of impeding the walker’s path. The composition demonstrates his technique, noted by curator Paul Roth, of "journeying through the street as though through the looking glass," as he captures the chaotic layering of reflection, interior space, and exterior street life. Light flares and reflections of an interior space, while undecipherable, obscure parts of the man’s body while long shadows from poles and the figure cut dark horizontal lines through the center of the image. The telescoping and compression of space achieved through his zoom lens creates the abstract quality that defines his work, while his darkroom techniques of dodging and burning— rather than multiple exposures—enhance the layered complexity of the urban scene.