Accession Number
2012/2.85

Title
Cuban Barbershop

Artist(s)
Dmitri Baltermants

Artist Nationality
Russian (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1970s

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
16 in x 20 in (40.64 cm x 50.8 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Agah, Class of 1989 (BBA)

Subject matter
This photograph presents a view inside a crowded barbershop somewhere in Cuba. The letters on the left-hand side of the image as well as the numerous intersecting reflections indicate that we are on the outside of the barbershop looking in. Several men sit with smocks over their shoulders being attended to by the barbers on the left, while a row of men wait their turn on the right. Three of the men in this latter group look out at the viewer. Reflections in the plate glass of the window as well as the mirrors that line several walls inside the shop make an exact sense of the space difficult to determine, while shards of fluorescent light form plunging diagonals that dominate the upper register of the image. 

Physical Description
View inside a crowded barbershop; the reflections of lights both inside and dart back and forth from the numerous windows and mirrors throughout the image. 

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
barbershops
electric fixtures (light fixtures)
electric lighting
men (male humans)
mirrors
shop signs