New Year's Eve, Tavern on the Green, New York City Possibly 1977 - 1978

Larry Fink made this gelatin silver print, New Year's Eve, Tavern on the Green, New York City. The whole thing feels a little loose, a little like it's about to spill over. It's not about perfection, it's about catching a moment, right? The balloons floating up, the way the light catches the edge of the woman's dress. It's a bit grainy, a bit rough around the edges, and I think that's the point. It's like Fink is saying, "Here, look at this, it's not perfect, but it's real." Look at the way the woman in the bottom right stares, she is at once present and completely absent. Fink’s work reminds me a bit of Diane Arbus, that same fascination with the everyday, the slightly off-kilter. Except where Arbus can be alienating, Fink is almost affectionate. Art doesn’t need to be polished, it doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to be real.