Dorothy Vogel, Subway 1976

This is a photograph, titled "Dorothy Vogel, Subway", by Dorothy Alexander. There's a real directness in this image; the stark monochrome gives it a kind of raw, documentary feel. It's not just a portrait; it's a slice of life, an unrehearsed moment. You can see the grain of the film, the way the light catches on Dorothy's face, and the layers of posters behind her. Her eyes are really something - there's such an intelligence and intensity there. There is a story there, not just of her, but of the city, of a life lived amongst art. The way the paisley scarf is styled, the details are muted, but create a sense of time, of life lived in the city. I think of Helen Levitt, another artist who found beauty in the everyday, or even, maybe, a bit of Diane Arbus’s unvarnished honesty. There's nothing fixed here, just an open question, a moment captured and held for us to ponder.