Street Map (#3) Possibly 1988 - 1994

Jim Goldberg made this black and white photograph, Street Map (#3), sometime in the 1980s. I look at this and my mind starts to wander… What was Goldberg thinking when he captured this moment? There is a casual coolness to the subject, the young man with his cigarette, yet something feels uncertain and vulnerable. It's there in the softness of the monochrome, the slightly out-of-focus details. The light seems to catch the moment. It reminds me of Nan Goldin’s work—that raw, intimate look at life on the margins. You know, artists like these, they’re not just taking pictures; they’re mapping out emotional landscapes. They are showing a sense of the fragile human condition. It's like they’re saying, "Here we are, flawed, real, present." Goldberg's photograph is a part of this ongoing visual conversation between artists, each adding their own voice, their own perspective. It’s about seeing and feeling, and then trying to share that with others.