Street Map (#5) Possibly 1987 - 1994

Jim Goldberg captured this image, a black and white photograph titled 'Street Map #5'. I wonder, was Goldberg thinking about that quintessential American scene, the arcade? What does it mean to be a kid, dreaming of 'Revenge of Doh', while reposing on the American flag? I can almost feel the texture of the flag beneath me, and the cool touch of the arcade machine. The crisp details, the deep blacks and bright whites—it's a moment frozen, a map of time and place. The composition has such a casualness to it, and that's what makes it feel so intimate. There’s something so vulnerable about the kid with his arms crossed, caught between the flag and the game. Goldberg seems to be asking, what does it mean to be young in America? It reminds me of Robert Frank, or even Garry Winogrand, artists wrestling with similar questions. We're all in conversation with each other, trying to see and feel our way through the world.