Untitled [New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 2005] Possibly 2005 - 2010

Richard Misrach made this photograph in 2005, capturing a scene from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and, wow, it hits you right in the gut. It's like a punch, but a quiet one. You know, I bet he wandered around these neighborhoods, feeling that sense of helplessness in the air. The light is so clear, almost too clear, and those ordinary houses with the word "HELP" scrawled across the roof – it’s like the world is screaming, but nobody seems to hear it. I can only imagine how Misrach himself felt, trying to capture a sense of the atmosphere that he found there. It reminds me that making art sometimes means bearing witness, holding space for what is, even when it's hard. It’s part of a larger conversation artists have about witnessing and expressing the world around us. And it is a vital part of our shared conversation about how we can all hear each other's cries for help a little bit better.