Untitled (Adolescent couple wearing paper crowns at a dance) c. 1970

This small, anonymous photograph captures an adolescent couple wearing paper crowns at a dance. The image is a beautiful example of how artmaking can be about capturing a moment, even if the process is simple. The photograph's texture is particularly striking; the graininess of the black and white film adds a layer of depth and nostalgia. The subjects are bathed in soft, diffused light, giving them a dreamlike quality. Look at the way the light catches the ribbons overhead, they seem to dance in the photograph as if they have a life of their own. There is a strange intimacy to the photograph, the subjects are close but slightly stiff, their embrace awkward but charming. Thinking of other artists, I am reminded of the work of Diane Arbus, whose photographs often captured the beauty and strangeness of everyday life. Like Arbus, this anonymous artist invites us to see the world in a new way, to find beauty in the unexpected, and to embrace the ambiguity of human experience.