Via Zucchelli, Rome, Italy 1949

Gordon Parks made this photograph on Via Zucchelli in Rome, and even though I wasn’t there, I’m getting a powerful sense of the stillness of the scene he captured. Parks, I think, was drawn to the textures of the city. The rough walls, the peeling posters, and the faded street signs. It's like the city itself is a canvas, marked by time and use. The figure sitting there… you can see the layers of the city's history etched into their face. Parks is like, “What does it mean to be here, in this place, at this time?” It's not just about the surface, but the stories that are embedded in the surface. And the conversations between the artist and the world around them, always inspiring one another to see things in new ways.