Barber Shop Interior, Atlanta 1936

This is Walker Evans' photograph, "Barber Shop Interior, Atlanta," a straightforward black and white print. The lack of flourish in the way Evans frames the image lends a quiet, austere quality to the work, as if the scene was captured unawares, as a part of life's everyday process. The photograph captures a collection of objects. We see two chairs, a mirror, a shelf with neatly folded towels, and various barbering tools. What I notice here is the texture. Evans' close attention to the material quality of the space feels almost tactile. The worn leather of the chairs, the rough plaster of the walls, and the crisp cotton of the towels all stand out. The light illuminates the scene from the front, creating a spectrum of grey scales. Evans' work always makes me think about other photographers like Eugène Atget, who documented the streets of Paris with a similar objective eye. Both understood that photography could reveal the beauty and complexity of ordinary life. They let the image speak for itself, embracing ambiguity and letting us find our own meaning.