Tel Aviv, 2007, at Allenby and Sheinkin Streets Possibly 2007 - 2014

Leo Rubinfien took this photograph in Tel Aviv in 2007, on the corner of Allenby and Sheinkin Streets. It's rendered in greyscale. I feel like he was asking questions, wandering around, looking. What’s it like to be alive? What’s it like to be in this city? I can almost feel the heat of the day, the heavy, slow-moving traffic, and the intense gaze of the woman at the front of the frame. I think I know that feeling – the feeling of being caught in a crowd, caught between places. Her mouth is slightly open, as if she’s about to say something – or maybe she’s just breathing. I bet Rubinfien was thinking about the work of other street photographers, like Garry Winogrand or Robert Frank, who captured the raw, unvarnished truth of everyday life. The conversation between artists across time is one of constant exchange, each inspiring new ideas and approaches. There’s no right or wrong answer, just different ways of seeing and experiencing the world.