Hippie Family (Ferguson), San Francisco 1967

Irving Penn made this photograph of the Hippie Family in San Francisco, and it's all about seeing how light and shadow play together. It's like he's painting with light, creating this very soft, almost dreamy effect that makes you feel like you're looking at a memory. The material aspect of this work is all about tone: it's the grays, blacks, and whites that really grab you. It’s transparent in a way, yet opaque. It's like Penn is showing us the realness of these people, but also keeping them at a distance, like figures in a black and white movie. Look at the details in the father's moustache, how the light catches each hair. It’s almost comical. Penn reminds me of August Sander, who also took very direct portraits of people to make a social record. Both seem to be saying that art is about seeing, really seeing, without judgment.