The play of subjects, props, and space are central to two photography exhibits which opened this past week in the design district, in The Finest Tradition at Light and Sie, and The Face of Texas at Photographs Do Not Bend.

In The Finest Tradition, Daniel Mirer’s subjects are young men approaching manhood who have not yet reached an age of self-possession. The photos offer a playful look at boys trying to be men and the inherent awkwardness of boys on the cusp of manhood. In some pictures the subjects are role playing. The cowboy in Cowboy In Alley is dressed as a lost male archetype, and yet there he is in the shade of a stucco wall holding the viewer with a steady gaze and pointed gun. Then there is the gladiator outside Caesar’s Palace, a virile warrior, but only in costume.

Mirer continues a theme from his last series of photos, Architorspace, which use architecture to create tension between the subject and the background. In Black and White Wall Three Sailors, the men are uncomfortably constrained by the painted brink lines, suggesting an uncertainty about their credibility, but with a sweetness that suggests passing and that time will enable them to grow into confident men. The architectural lines and stark black and white bricks overshadow the sailors. Their discomfort comes from being a prop to the space. The trumpet player in Brass Under Archway, timidly prepares to blow his horn, anticipating the echoing blast that will reverberate through the massive stone archways that loom over him. Seeing his uncertainty, the viewer sympathizes with his hesitance while chuckling at his predicament. With the architecture so prominently featured, the question becomes what is the subject, the man or the space? Mirer hasn’t left behind his exploration of architecture; he has strengthened its prominence by allowing it to overpower the people being photographed.

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hile Mirer is teasing the viewer with the question of who or what is the subject of his portraits, at Photographs Do Not Bend, Michael O’Brien is very clear about his subject: Texas as seen in its inhabitants. The exhibit is a selection of beautiful photos from O’Brien’s new book, The Faces of Texas. The show includes several famous Texas residents, the Bushes, Troy Aikmen, and Willie Nelson, but the portraits of lesser known personalities capture the distinct character and culture of Texas. In Kinky Friedman, O’Brien has captured the brash and larger than life personality of Texas’s famous candidate for Governor. Standing in a stream wearing sandals and a toga, smoking a cigar I wonder, is he the Texan messiah or a lost frat boy? What is clear is he has personality in abundance.

Willie Nelson, Spicewood, Texas, 1989, by Michael O’Brien Photos courtesy PDNB Gallery

In Gatorfest Queen, Anahuac, O’Brien positions his subject standing erect and poised in a swamp, as a giant gator creeps from behind with jaws gaping. The sequins of her dress and the gators scales reflect glimmers of light. Our queen, not unaware of the gator, is fearless – a true Texan. In the gallery’s press release, O’Brien is quoted as saying, “Life in Texas was slower - more deliberate - and certainly more peaceful. . . . The people were larger than life - friendly, informal, and generous of spirit.” O’Brien illustrates this Texas spirit, photographing Obie Satterwight, standing, hands in his pockets, dignified and at ease, in the twilight of an empty street. The landscape and architecture behind Satterwight works with the subject, emphasizing his refined and weathered elegance.