Pinkey and Tabitha, Room 28, Hotel St. Paul 1987

Jim Goldberg made this photograph, ‘Pinkey and Tabitha, Room 28, Hotel St. Paul,’ sometime around now, using a camera. Just like painting, photography is about the interplay of light and shadow. Look at the way the light falls across the bed, the television screen, and the figures. I feel like I'm right there in the room with Pinkey and Tabitha. I can almost smell the stale cigarette smoke and hear the static from the TV. I see the scars, the blank stare, the hopelessness, but also, I see a kind of fierce beauty in their resilience, in their willingness to be seen. How brave they are. It’s almost as if they are daring us to look away. I think about all the times I’ve been in a hotel room, feeling lost and alone, and how this image captures that feeling. Goldberg asks us to pause, reflect, and connect with these human beings. He invites us into an intimate space, offering a glimpse into a world that is often hidden.