Untitled 1993

Thomas Roma made this photograph, sometime in the recent past. It’s a black and white image of four people, all sitting next to each other, reading. The light is coming from somewhere to the left, glancing off the white pages of the books. I’m wondering what it was like to be there when Roma took this photo. It feels like an intimate moment. Everyone’s lost in their own world, but together. I love the way the figures overlap, creating a sense of depth and connection. The man in the jacket, the one with the Dodgers logo, his arms form a diagonal line, drawing us into the center of the picture. I can almost feel the weight of those books in their laps. It reminds me of going to church as a kid and trying to understand what the adults found so interesting. Photography, like painting, captures a moment in time, but also tells a story. The way Roma frames this image, he’s not just showing us what’s there, he’s inviting us to reflect on community, contemplation, and the power of the written word.