Untitled (group of children posing around miniature piano) c. 1955

This photograph of children posing around a miniature piano was made by Paul Gittings, we’re not sure exactly when. It's a study in light and shadow, but it’s more than just a formal exercise. Look at the way the children are arranged. Their placement isn’t random. There’s a clear sense of composition at play. I’m struck by the details that emerge, like the child in the back, looking slightly askew, or the girl at the piano. Each pose and gesture, frozen in time, contributes to a sense of narrative possibility. There’s a sense of a story hinted at here, a story that we, as viewers, are invited to complete. It reminds me a bit of the work of artists like Philip Guston, in that it finds a kind of beauty in the everyday, in the overlooked. Ultimately, this photograph is a reminder that art isn’t just about what you see, but about how you see and what you bring to the experience.