The Quai de Javel, Plasterers, Paris 1932

Henri Cartier-Bresson made this photograph, 'The Quai de Javel, Plasterers, Paris,' using his camera to capture a moment, a feeling, a scene. You know, the beautiful thing about photography is how it takes something real and turns it into art. Look at how the textures play together; the rough, piled fabrics contrast with the smooth faces of the workers. The tonality—the way the light falls—makes everything kind of dance. I see this and think of Franz Kline, how he used stark blacks and whites to create such dynamic compositions. Notice the way the light catches the edge of one of the worker's aprons, separating it from the pile of material behind. It’s like a quiet, tender gesture amid the chaos, a single line drawing our eye to a specific point. It's like a little spark of intentionality in a world of randomness, which, I think, is what art is all about. It's not just about the thing itself, but the feeling it evokes.