Elliott Erwitt’s Handbook
American photographer Elliot Erwitt marvels at the power, expressiveness, and significance of hands in a collection of images gathered from around the globe
Human (and sometimes non-human) hands are, with the possible exception of the eyes, the most expressive parts of the body. They ask for more or less, telling us to come or go, asking questions and answering them, scolding, rewarding, searching and finding, and at their most intimate, are loving and lustful. We may take our hands for granted, but Elliott Erwitt does not. In our hands, he sees power and wonder, emotion and feeling.
Humanity works through our appendages, and hands have the ability to convey what our words and our facial expressions cannot. Here is Erwitt at his most serious-and-yet-whimsical, giving us the moments that, without hands, would not exist.
