Ralph Coxson with his Wife and Son, Shenango Ingot Molds (Working People series) 1987

This is a photograph by Milton Rogovin, part of his series on working people. In this image, a man named Ralph Coxson stands with his wife and son, somewhere near the Shenango Ingot Molds. I am thinking about Rogovin, setting up his camera, finding the light, asking this family to pose. The black and white flattens everything, but there are still so many details: the Beaumont sign on their house, the number 5 beside the door, the American flag, the shovel leaning against the wall. These details act as brushstrokes do in a painting. He’s not just documenting; he’s composing a portrait, trying to get at something essential about these people. Maybe he’s thinking about other photographers like Walker Evans. There is this exchange between them, a visual conversation. It feels like Rogovin sees the beauty and dignity in the everyday, the ordinary. And in this, he invites us to do the same. What do we see when we really look?