St. Paul’s Chapel, Broadway between Fulton and Vesey Streets, Manhattan 1938

Berenice Abbott made this photograph, "St. Paul's Chapel, Broadway between Fulton and Vesey Streets, Manhattan", sometime in the middle of the 20th century. It's a study in contrasts, isn't it? The chapel's classical lines against the looming skyscraper in the background. The rough stone and smooth columns. The photograph itself is grainy, full of texture, and almost tactile; you can practically feel the grit of the city. Look at the clock tower, it's like Abbott is trying to capture not just a building, but a whole era. It reminds me of some of the painters in the Ashcan School, like John Sloan. They were also interested in capturing the everyday life of the city, the beauty in the mundane. But where they used paint, Abbott used light and shadow. It's a conversation, really, across mediums and across time. Each artist trying to make sense of the world in their own way.