New York, 2007, at Broadway and Fulton Street Possibly 2007 - 2014

Leo Rubinfien captured this photograph, ‘New York, 2007, at Broadway and Fulton Street’ with a camera, of course, but it’s the greyscale palette that makes it feel more like charcoal. This photo gives me the same feeling as when I’m trying to make a painting, feeling around for the right line, the right weight. The texture is rich, not just in the literal grain of the photograph, but in the implied textures of the city, the man’s skin, his suit. The light catches the edge of his raincoat, giving it a sculptural quality. It’s this contrast that really grabs me. The man's expression, caught mid-thought, seems to mirror the city’s own ambivalence. Rubinfien reminds me of other street photographers, Garry Winogrand for example, in that he embraces the chaotic energy of the everyday. There's no single meaning here, just a moment, a feeling, a question hanging in the air. And maybe that's enough.