2009.1.22

An industrial scene, a man is at a firey smelter with a ladle. He is wearing protective clothing: a hat, eyeglasses, an apron, gloves, and work pants. Of indeterminate race, with dark European features, the man has a trimmed mustache. The smelter he is working at (which sits between him and the viewer) is thigh-high to him, covered with metalic residue, and has fire blasting out of the right side (to the viewer). Behind him is a row of heavy industrial machinery against a cinder block wall. It is a cluttered, dirty space. The ladle seems to be glowing hot. (It is small, holding maybe only six or eight fluid ounces). His hand shows motion, as though he is lifting the ladle out of the smelter opening. No explanation is given for what we are seeing. On verso is the stamp, "Tribune Photo By," with the handwitten note "Tory Read." (The original note spelled it "Reed," which is crossed out and corrected in the same hand, same pen, directly underneath. Also there is a date stamp, "Oct 2 1992"

Used: Oakland Tribune