Joe Watching Sesame Street, West Newton, Massachusetts c. 1973

Joanne Leonard captured this photograph of her son Joe watching Sesame Street in West Newton, Massachusetts. It’s a scene of quiet observation, isn’t it? The stark contrast in the black and white image makes you focus on the texture—the shag carpet, the grain of the door. I wonder what it was like to be Joanne Leonard, a mother, documenting these everyday moments. There’s something so intimate about the way she frames her son, lost in his own world, absorbing the colorful chaos of Sesame Street. The antenna on the television seems to reach out as if trying to find an answer. This photograph reminds me of other artists who capture the beauty in mundane moments, like Nan Goldin, for example, who photographs the everyday with warmth and tenderness. We’re all in conversation with each other, across time, influencing and inspiring each other's creativity.