Retirement Home c. 1970

Lynne Cohen's black and white photograph captures a waiting room, maybe from the late 20th century. It's a world of grey, where the walls are bare except for the TV, a small old thing perched high up on a shelf with a trailing wire. I can imagine Cohen setting up her camera in this room, trying to capture a feeling. It is a scene where time seems to slow down. The furniture is arranged as if for conversation, yet the space feels profoundly silent, isolating. The surfaces of the seats look worn, each crease and button holding a memory of someone waiting, watching TV, or simply being. The tile floor adds to the starkness, each square a grid marking the passage of time, like the rhythm of a heartbeat. I'm sure Cohen wanted us to feel a sense of detachment here, a moment of reflection on what it means to wait, to exist in a space that feels both familiar and utterly alienating. It reminds me of other photographers like Thomas Struth, who also photograph empty places. This work invites us to consider our own places, and how they shape our lives.