A young girl in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland  c. 1954 - 1965

Dorothea Lange took this photo of a young girl in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, using her camera as a way to meet the world. There’s a directness to the image, the girl’s gaze meeting yours, her face filling the frame. The limited tones of this black and white photo aren’t about hiding things, but rather revealing them. Look at the girl’s glasses, how they frame her face but also create a barrier, adding a layer of complexity. Her expression is hard to read, the curve of her lips, a down turned but not in any explicit emotion, and the soft focus of the background pulls the viewer in. It's a quiet kind of portrait. The details are there, like the pattern on her dress, but it’s the feeling that lingers. It reminds me a little of Diane Arbus's portraits, which also have a knack for capturing the unvarnished reality of her subjects. Art is about looking, feeling, and asking questions, not about easy answers.