Untitled (little boy seated next to Pinocchio doll on armchiar) after 1940

This photograph of a boy and his Pinocchio doll was made by Paul Gittings. It presents such a tender moment, captured through the lens of a bygone era. The grayscale palette creates a sense of nostalgia, a soft blur making it seem both present and distant, like a memory half-forgotten. I wonder about the chair, the doily, all those details that seem mundane until they are not. That boy’s smile, caught between innocence and a hint of mischief, makes me think about how photographs can sometimes make things feel staged, even if they are not. Pinocchio is in the picture, the little boy with the impossible nose; in comparison, the real boy seems to be playing a role. It’s the same kind of tension I play with in my own work. I am reminded of Diane Arbus; she also had a knack for capturing those awkward, tender moments, the ones that make you feel everything all at once. Art really is a conversation across time.