Self-Portrait, St. Mark’s Place

After pursuing business ventures in China, Val Telberg became interested in photography after moving back to the United States. He was taught photography by his future wife, Kathleen Lambing, at the Art Student’s League of New York City. Telberg is known for his experimentation with printing using multiple negatives. In this self-portrait, Telberg’s closed eyes and slightly upturned face give an air of expectation, or maybe of meditation. His shadowed face, however, adds an air of foreboding to the picture, as does the shadowy mass above. It seems likely that this is the tripod which holds the camera. Suggestively, a line stretches across his throat.