Photograph-New York c. 20th century

Paul Strand made this photograph in New York, and the date is unknown, but its textures and tones still speak to us. Strand, like a painter, has an eye for the physical: the grain of the wood, the rough surface of the chimney, the weathered sign. His blacks are deep and velvety, while the whites shimmer like light on water. Look at the way he captures the falling-down wooden structure, set against what appears to be an advertisement. You can almost feel the grit under your feet, and the grit between your teeth. That falling-down structure looks almost like a cubist painting, and the advertisement almost looks like a painting too. In fact, Strand's photographic compositions are very much like the paintings of his friend, the painter, Charles Sheeler. Photography and painting? It's all the same conversation, isn't it? It’s all about seeing, feeling, and translating the world through a lens. Or a brush.