Tavern on the Green, New York City 1976

Larry Fink took this photograph, Tavern on the Green, New York City, and I'm guessing it was with a camera, but of course, that's obvious. The tones are so velvety – rich darks against the bright whites of the tablecloth, dress details, and faces. You can tell that this is all about catching a moment, like a painter would. I love the way the light sort of pools on the woman in the center. Her confident stance, the way she is lit from the front, brings her forward. This feels like a study in contrasts, from the woman's dress, patterned and light, to the dark suits of the men. I keep coming back to the face of the woman in the center, her expression; it seems like she knows something we don’t. Fink always struck me as someone in the orbit of Diane Arbus; they both have a similar way of looking at people. There is something that is both revealing and discreet in their way of working, as if we are overhearing someone else’s conversation.