2005 (negative); 2008 (print)

William Spearing

Sarah Stolfa

American, born 1975

Stolfa photographs life around her, so while she tended bar at McGlinchey’s, a landmark Philadelphia pub, it was natural that she began taking pictures of bar patrons. She always portrayed individuals seated alone but they were never total strangers—she focused on regulars who came in often enough that she was familiar with them. From behind the counter, Stolfa’s flash startlingly illuminated the otherwise dimly lit bar, exposing a space that is otherwise protected by darkness.

There is a visible tension in Stolfa’s subjects between the comfort of sitting alone in a place oft-frequented and the unease in having that solitude disrupted as the glaring flash attracts attention—a tension that is apparent here in William Spearing’s simultaneous confident gaze, guarded posture, and tightly clasped hands.