The Quai de Javel, Plasterers, Paris 1932

Henri Cartier-Bresson made The Quai de Javel, Plasterers, Paris with, I'm guessing, a camera somewhere in Paris. Imagine Cartier-Bresson, the street photographer, strolling around and finding these four plasterers, not on the job but standing in front of what looks like a mountain of tarpaulins. They are all looking at the camera, maybe he asked them to pose, maybe he didn’t. I am sure that he had to be quick and quiet as a mouse not to disturb their attitude. Look how the workers’ aprons pick up the whites from the tarpaulins! I love this photo because it shows the poetry in the everyday, and it elevates workers as both the subject and heroes of the image. In that sense, it reminds me of work by other artists like Gustave Caillebotte. I like to think of artists as being in a long conversation with one another across time. They keep each other going and inspire each other. This photo gives us a new way of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world. It's all about ambiguity and uncertainty, leaving room for multiple interpretations.