The Hollywood Suites (Windows) #13 1977

Editor: Steve Kahn's black and white photograph, "The Hollywood Suites (Windows) #13" from 1977 presents an intimate view framed by floral curtains. There's something almost voyeuristic about the scene, a quiet stillness. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: The window itself becomes a powerful symbol, doesn't it? Consider its shape, not as a simple rectangle allowing light, but a proscenium. The curtain is half-open: is it unveiling a new vision or cautiously obscuring something, permitting only a glimpse? What about the flowery print? Editor: The floral print feels a little old-fashioned. Is that relevant? Curator: Precisely. Floral patterns are rich with cultural associations – domesticity, femininity, even artifice. They recall Victorian parlors and Hollywood set designs. Juxtapose this with the monochrome, the un-staged shot of urban life just outside, and the photograph gains complex layers. Do you think Kahn wants us to notice these sharp contrasts? Editor: So the tension between the interior, represented by the curtain, and the exterior, creates a push and pull? Curator: Yes. One suggesting cultivated, manufactured beauty and the other exposing everyday city. Consider also the window’s material presence – its framing, sill and tiles – these reinforce that separation. It’s more than just a view, isn’t it? What do you make of the skyline shown? Editor: It really adds another element. Looking closer, the window shows a different story to that of the print curtain and tiled frame... Almost like a conflict. Curator: The distant buildings signify an existence beyond this close framing. An icon that questions: Is it the manufactured image or the reality that endures? Food for thought! Editor: I hadn't thought about the different levels of imagery! That gives me a lot to consider about what's concealed versus revealed in this image.