Psych Ward, McCauley's Institute Possibly 1987 - 1994

Jim Goldberg took this photograph, ‘Psych Ward, McCauley’s Institute,’ sometime during his career as a documentary photographer. I can imagine Goldberg in this space, feeling a huge sense of responsibility to capture a story that might otherwise go unseen. I wonder what it was like to be a fly on the wall, composing this shot, deciding what to focus on. The straps hanging off the bed frame feel like a dominant brushstroke of Goldberg’s. It's like a cry for help, suspended in air. We’re seeing something so personal and loaded with human emotion, but at the same time, the scene is eerily empty. In that way, it's really open-ended. Goldberg leaves space for us to bring our own feelings to it, which is maybe what all good artists do.