Scene in the Negro Quarter 1936

Walker Evans took this photograph, "Scene in the Negro Quarter," in the early part of the twentieth century. The scene is cast in black and white. I'm thinking about what Walker might have been thinking when he decided to take a shot of this particular scene. The image stages a stark contrast between the architecture of the city and the dwellings of the "Negro Quarter," highlighting societal divisions through the built environment. The composition is kind of like a metaphor, you know? The way he uses the geometry of the buildings to frame the experience. There's also a figure in the photograph, standing by the wall, maybe observing the scene. I wonder, are they part of the neighborhood, or a visitor, like the photographer? Evans, like other photographers, was in conversation with social issues of his time, and the image acts as a form of embodied expression, a visual record that invites us to reflect on the complexities of urban life, inequality, and social commentary. It's about seeing and feeling, and maybe changing the way we look at things, ourselves, and each other.