New Orleans c. 1936

Peter Sekaer made this photograph, New Orleans, using gelatin silver. Look at how the light falls in this piece, splitting it roughly down the middle; the left side bleached and bright, the right disappearing into shadow. There’s a flatness to the image, a kind of compression that gives the buildings a paper-like quality. I’m drawn to the textures, though. The smooth wall on the left contrasted against the brick on the right. My eye snagged on the shadow cast by the overhang. It has such a tangible presence, heavy and still. Like a solid object. And this shadow bisects that brickwork, emphasizing its rough, uneven surface. Sekaer isn't trying to pretty things up. He's capturing the architecture as it is. This reminds me a little of Walker Evans. Like Evans, Sekaer seems interested in the unglamorous parts of American life, the everyday buildings that are so easy to overlook. There’s nothing showy here, just a quiet observation of a place and time.