New York, 2007, at Broadway and Fulton Street by Leo Rubinfien

New York, 2007, at Broadway and Fulton Street

Possibly 2007 - 2014

0:00
0:00

Artwork details

Medium
photography
Dimensions
image: 40.64 × 49.53 cm (16 × 19 1/2 in.) sheet: 58.42 × 67.31 cm (23 × 26 1/2 in.)
Copyright
National Gallery of Art: CC0 1.0

Tags

#portrait#street shot#street-photography#photography#historical photography#monochrome photography#street photography#modernism#monochrome

About this artwork

Leo Rubinfien captured this photograph, ‘New York, 2007, at Broadway and Fulton Street’ with a camera, of course, but it’s the greyscale palette that makes it feel more like charcoal. This photo gives me the same feeling as when I’m trying to make a painting, feeling around for the right line, the right weight. The texture is rich, not just in the literal grain of the photograph, but in the implied textures of the city, the man’s skin, his suit. The light catches the edge of his raincoat, giving it a sculptural quality. It’s this contrast that really grabs me. The man's expression, caught mid-thought, seems to mirror the city’s own ambivalence. Rubinfien reminds me of other street photographers, Garry Winogrand for example, in that he embraces the chaotic energy of the everyday. There's no single meaning here, just a moment, a feeling, a question hanging in the air. And maybe that's enough.

Comments

Share your thoughts