Politieagent te paard, pier Hoboken, New York, Verenigde Staten 1936

This silver gelatin print, Politieagent te paard, pier Hoboken, New York, Verenigde Staten, was made by Wouter Cool at some point in the first half of the 20th Century. The grayscale is so subtle; it's almost like the photograph is blushing, or maybe that's just the old paper. Either way, the gentleness of the tonal range lends it a poignant quality. The composition is straightforward but striking: a mounted policeman, ramrod straight, with a phalanx of cars lined up in the background. I love the almost mirror-image quality of the two forms – the human on the horse, the cars behind – a kind of doubling that gives the image a conceptual kick. And notice how the horse's shadow falls, echoing the angle of the pier behind. Cool seems fascinated by how the interplay of light and form create visual rhymes. It puts me in mind of Atget, who also seemed interested in the poetic potential of the everyday. There's an openness here, an invitation to participate in a conversation about what we see, how we see it, and how that seeing shapes our understanding of the world.