The Battery c. 1909

Alvin Langdon Coburn made this image, The Battery, with photography— a medium which, like painting, is also a process of layering, and working with surfaces. It’s like a foggy dream, right? The velvety browns and soft focus feels like he's captured a fleeting moment, an atmosphere. He builds the image with a keen sensitivity to light and tone. Look at the steamboats, they're almost ghostlike, softened by the camera's gaze. Imagine Coburn wandering the city, lugging his equipment, searching for that perfect shot. Painters do this too. We roam around looking, thinking, feeling. The way he uses light and shadow reminds me of Whistler, who was also trying to capture these ephemeral impressions of modern life. I find that pictures like this resonate because they show us how artists, whatever their medium, are always trying to translate the world into something felt and meaningful.