Untitled (117th Street, Harlem, New York) 1975

This gelatin silver print of 117th Street, Harlem, New York, was made by Shawn Walker. I love the blur here, it's so evocative. It's not just a photograph, it's an image about movement, about being in a place, walking, seeing... Even though it's a still image, you feel that everything around this figure is flowing and buzzing. I imagine Walker walking the streets of Harlem, trying to capture a sense of the place, not just how it looks, but how it feels to be there. What was he looking for? It's like he’s trying to catch a ghost, or maybe he's chasing after something that’s already gone. Walker’s work seems to come from the same place as Roy DeCarava's, or even a filmmaker like Charles Burnett, they are all such important storytellers and poets. I always think that artists are in conversation with one another, across time and place. Each new gesture or decision builds upon what came before, and in turn, inspires what will come next. It's all one big, messy, beautiful conversation.