Flavio da Silva After Asthma Attack, the Favela 1961

Gordon Parks made this photograph, "Flavio da Silva After Asthma Attack, the Favela," and it’s intense, like a punch to the gut. It’s all in black and white, so there's a starkness to it. Looking at this image, I’m thinking about how Parks chose to frame the shot, the angle he took. What was he thinking when he pressed the shutter? He must have been moved. It's interesting how photographers and painters think about the world differently, and yet come together in a feeling. The textures, the details—the boy's skin, the rough fabric of the bed—they all speak volumes. Parks’s choice of monochrome adds to the gravity, stripping away any distraction and honing in on the raw emotion of the scene. Thinking about other image makers, I guess we are all trying to make some sense of the world, trying to capture something real, something true. Each artist’s work is part of a larger conversation, inspiring and challenging us all to see the world in new ways.