Untitled 1992

This black and white photograph was taken by Thomas Roma sometime in his career as a street photographer. I can imagine Roma walking the streets of Brooklyn, camera in hand, on the lookout. He's drawn to the light in this room, the stillness of the figures who are gathered there, each absorbed in their own reading. It's a quiet moment, full of contemplation. The women's patterned dresses are so beautiful, so ornate. I wonder how they decided what to wear. Think about the way Roma has framed this photograph. I'm also wondering what kind of camera he used to make this image. The way the light bounces off their faces... it makes me think about the quiet conversations that happen between people and their surroundings. And that's what it feels like to make an artwork—a conversation, an exchange, an unfolding. Artists are in constant dialogue. They are all in conversation, across time, spurring each other on!