Phoenix, Carefree Highway and 7th Street, Looking West 1999

Allen Dutton's photograph captures a street corner in Phoenix. It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s definitely a real one. I imagine Dutton standing there, maybe a little sweaty, waiting for the right moment. He’s probably thinking about how to freeze the motion, the dust, the feeling of being stuck in a place that’s both nowhere and everywhere. Look at how the truck blurs into a ghostly streak, a kind of melancholic mark-making against the harsh clarity of the street signs. It reminds me of Robert Frank, and the gritty poetry of everyday America. There’s a tension between the stillness of the desert landscape and the frenetic energy of the traffic. It’s like Dutton is saying, "Here it is, folks. This is what it feels like to be alive right now." Photography, like painting, is about trying to pin down something elusive. It's a conversation with the world, one that leaves plenty of room for us to jump in and add our own thoughts.