Russian Ball, New York City 1977

Curator: Standing here before us is Larry Fink’s "Russian Ball, New York City," a gelatin silver print from 1977. Editor: He looks utterly dejected. The photograph almost feels like a scene from a somber play – all harsh light and deep shadows. Curator: Fink’s work, particularly his series capturing social gatherings, often juxtaposes wealth and vulnerability. What do you think of that dynamic, set against a social-realist backdrop? Editor: Class disparities become brutally stark when immortalized like this. I can’t help but ponder what social rituals demand from those participating in them. He could be anyone really – anywhere. Are we looking at enforced participation, or a man confronting his choices? Curator: Larry Fink’s photo style plays with the boundaries between observer and observed. We sense the man’s inner life in the way the light seems to avoid his gaze. Fink got incredibly close to the subjects he shot, inviting moments of introspection. It's almost as if he's inviting us to see ourselves reflected in his loneliness. Editor: This image pulls on those themes really profoundly; the tight framing adds to that tension. He seems stuck, backed into that doorway and shadowed by disappointment. The setting, that peek of a numbered table in the background, gives an immediate context— a function, a prescribed activity. Curator: Do you think there is some sort of performative quality to his look of dejection, then? Does it point at something? Editor: Perhaps! It also points at power, the burdens it entails. Fink is questioning what a ‘celebration’ demands, particularly of individuals at that Russian Ball back in the day. Is he resigned? Is he defiant? The monochrome palette here almost abstracts emotion into a sculptural, contemplative form. Curator: Thinking about it now, this gelatin silver print offers such complex considerations of individual agency in an archive of public moments. Thanks for your insights! Editor: Thanks. It’s difficult to see such blatant disparity even now. This image becomes, as ever, more resonant than one might anticipate.