Benefit, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Possibly 1975 - 1981

Larry Fink made this photograph, Benefit, at The Corcoran Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C.. It's a fascinating piece, and what grabs me first is the light, how it carves out these figures from the darkness, almost like a stage play. The whole image has this grainy, almost velvety texture, doesn't it? You can practically feel the plushness of the room, the stiff fabric of the tuxedo, the glint of the jewelry. It's not about sharp details; it's about mood, about capturing a moment, a feeling. Look at the way the shadows stretch and distort behind the figures, adding this layer of mystery, even unease. Thinking about other artists, someone like Diane Arbus comes to mind, with that similar interest in capturing the raw and unvarnished aspects of human experience. But really, Fink is doing his own thing here. He’s not afraid to let the image be a little rough around the edges, a little ambiguous. And that's where its power lies, in that space between what we see and what we think we know.