Champs Elysées, Paris 1929

André Kertész captured this photograph of the Champs-Élysées in Paris, immortalizing a scene of urban life. What is the public role of art if not to capture these everyday moments? The photograph shows a collection of empty chairs scattered across a park, each one poised as if awaiting a sitter. In the background, a woman walks purposefully across the frame. This image, likely taken in the 1920s or 30s, presents Paris as a place of leisure but also one marked by a certain anonymity of modern life. Consider the social conditions that shape artistic production; the parks of Paris were themselves a product of urban planning, aimed at creating spaces for public gathering and recreation, carefully structuring modern urban life. The power of this image comes from the contrast between the absent sitters and the very present arrangement of chairs, asking us to consider the place of the individual in the modern city. Historical associations are key here. To truly appreciate this work, we must consider the historical context and urban planning records of the time. The meaning of art is contingent on social context, something a historian can help illuminate.