Untitled (Lower West Side series) 1985

Milton Rogovin's gelatin silver print captures a moment in the Lower West Side. Look at the textures – the rough wood of the building, the patterned sofa, the clothes, the concrete. Rogovin has a documentarian's eye, yet there’s such intimacy here, too. The way the light falls, it feels like he wasn't just recording but also feeling, connecting. You get the sense they are in a world within a world. I can imagine Rogovin setting up his camera, maybe chatting with the couple a bit before taking the shot. Did he direct them, or was this their natural pose? Either way, their expressions are so direct and open, it’s like they’re inviting us in. I see their story, resilience, dignity – and Rogovin seems to capture it all with such empathy. Photographers like Rogovin were in conversation with painters, writers, and filmmakers – all trying to make sense of the world, trying to record what it’s like to be human. Art is not just a thing, it's a connection across time, a way of seeing through someone else’s eyes.