Dave Panhandling Possibly 1988 - 1994

Jim Goldberg shot this black and white photograph, Dave Panhandling, sometime in the late 20th century. It’s interesting to me how the image is built up of almost granular textures, the pavement, the clothing, the figures in the background, the newsprint. Goldberg seems to build up the image, not with tone, but with a complex network of tiny details. I keep coming back to the hand, reaching up and out, almost touching the star on the pavement. The vulnerability is amplified by the shallowness of the depth of field; the foreground is sharp, yet the background is soft, out of focus. It speaks to the precariousness of the figures condition. He is present, but almost not there. This photograph makes me think of the work of Dorothea Lange. Both artists engage with a deep sense of humanism, where we look at people not as subjects, but as co-inhabitants of the same world. The photograph isn't resolved, and this sense of ambiguity invites the viewer to engage with the image, to interpret it, and ultimately, to feel it.