Untitled 1960

This photograph was taken by Garry Winogrand, though when exactly is a mystery. It’s a grainy, contrasty piece, all about capturing a fleeting moment, a kind of visual snapshot of life as it unfolds. The image is a study in light and shadow, an amazing dark mass that obscures and reveals at the same time. Look at how the building looms in the background, the windows like eyes staring down. Then, right in the foreground, you have these figures – people caught in the flow of the city. It's a high contrast view of the street, but you can almost feel the grit and the energy. Winogrand was a street photographer, right? He's in the tradition of people like Robert Frank, Diane Arbus. He wasn't trying to pretty things up. He just wanted to capture life, even if it was messy or unsettling. He makes it beautiful, somehow. Like John Cassavetes makes great film. And like all great art, it is open to interpretation.