Christmas Star after 1955

Frank Paulin made this gelatin silver print, "Christmas Star," and what I love about it is its layering of reflections. You can tell it's a cold day in the city. There are shoppers bundled in their winter coats, probably getting those last-minute gifts, and the Christmas star hangs suspended in the window. I can imagine Paulin standing across the street, maybe shivering a little, waiting for just the right moment to capture this scene. It's like he's trying to capture the feeling of Christmas, not just the look of it. It reminds me of the way painters like Fairfield Porter or Jane Freilicher would capture the light and atmosphere of a particular place and time, trying to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. There's a conversation happening between the inside and outside of the store, between the shoppers and the star, between Paulin and the city. And that's what makes it so special, this sense of connection and exchange. It's a reminder that art isn't just about what we see, but how we see it, and how we share that vision with others.