Untitled (Storefront Churches series) 1958 - 1961

Milton Rogovin made this untitled photograph, part of the Storefront Churches series, at an unknown date. It's a black and white photograph, seemingly simple, but like a lot of good art, it keeps giving the more you look. The thing that grabs me is how Rogovin plays with layers. You've got the wall, right? Weathered, cracked, with this exposed brick peeking through like a raw nerve. And then there's this image of Jesus tacked onto it. It's a study in contrasts, this interplay between decay and… well, hope? Redemption? It’s hard to tell. The texture of the wall feels so real, so lived-in. You can almost feel the grit. And then that slightly out-of-focus image of Jesus – it’s like a dream, or a memory. The cracked plaster above the bricks creates a line that directs your eye straight to the image. I love how Rogovin isn't trying to give us any answers, just holding space for the questions. Think of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s typologies of industrial structures. Rogovin does something similar, but with so much more heart.