Man, Five Points Square, New York Possibly 1916 - 1917

Paul Strand's photograph captures a man in Five Points Square, New York, a face etched with time. I imagine Strand, camera in hand, moving around his subject, trying to get the right angle to capture his humanity. There's a weight to this image, a stillness that feels both intimate and distant. The man's eyes, shadowed by his hat, seem to hold a lifetime of stories. It reminds me of some of Lucian Freud's portraits, in that direct, unflinching gaze. It’s like he’s saying, “Here I am, look at me.” The tonal range is gorgeous. The way the light falls across his face, highlighting the wrinkles and the contours of his weathered skin, it’s so beautiful. You know, artists are always responding to each other across time. Strand probably looked at work by people like Alfred Stieglitz, and then someone else looked at Strand, and so on. Photography and painting; it's all one big conversation.