Tepoztlán, Mexico 1972

Ed Grazda made this photograph, "Tepoztlán, Mexico," and honestly, I don’t know when exactly, but let’s just say it’s soaked in the spirit of its time. It is photography, but the way it's playing with layers feels painterly. The composition is a dance of rectangles – the TV, the mirror, the room itself. It’s got this raw, almost documentary feel, but then there's this surreal doubling through the mirror, creating a space that’s both real and somehow staged. And that scribbled lightning bolt on the wall, like a child's drawing, it cuts through the seriousness with a touch of playfulness. It reminds me a little of Robert Frank’s work, that same gritty, on-the-road vibe, but Grazda adds this extra layer of self-awareness, of the image reflecting on itself. It’s a quiet piece, but it hums with a strange energy, a sense of a moment captured but also constructed. Art, right? Ambiguity and multiple interpretations, that’s what makes it sing.