Seymore (Lower West Side series) 1985

Editor: Right, so here we have Milton Rogovin’s photograph, "Seymore (Lower West Side series)," taken in 1985. It's a gelatin silver print. There’s something immediately intimate and powerful about the way this family is presented, a sense of quiet strength. What strikes you most about it? Curator: Intimacy, yes. I think it resides in how raw the image feels. Rogovin’s portraits from this series never seemed to gloss over life's harder edges, did they? The floral wallpaper—a gentle attempt at domesticity perhaps—contrasts so starkly with the father's bare chest and visible scar. Notice, also, how the child’s shirt says, "Stop, Drop, Roll." Isn’t it odd how life throws in these visual rhymes? Are they conscious? I doubt it! The gaze of the parents, though...direct, unflinching. What do you think it communicates? Editor: Definitely that sense of resilience. I think they are saying, 'we are here'. It's almost confrontational, but also welcoming in a strange way. Curator: Beautifully put! I feel that invitation too. To really see them. Rogovin gives such dignity. Almost like… they’re the royalty. A bit rumpled, of course; loved. Perhaps royalty who, any day, might pop over and ask for sugar for their coffee. Editor: It makes me think about the responsibility of the photographer, of seeing and portraying people honestly, without judgment. It feels like Rogovin really succeeded. Curator: He tried, dear, I suspect he really, truly, tried. And sometimes, when a soul stretches that far, magic happens, and now we can be the lucky ones and find a new love in life with "Seymore (Lower West Side series)."