Katowice, Poland 2001

Michael Ackerman made this black and white photograph in Katowice, Poland. The image is filled with shadow and light. I imagine Ackerman wandering around, finding this scene, this guy, and he’s just gotta capture it. It feels intuitive, like a snapshot of a moment that just had to be recorded. The smoke from the cigarette is like a thought bubble, like we’re seeing what he’s thinking. Or maybe it’s about what Ackerman was thinking when he took the picture. There is something about the way the light falls and illuminates the scene that reminds me of other photographers, like Diane Arbus. But Arbus's work is much more planned out and staged than this. This is just life as it is. It makes you wonder what was on that piece of paper on the table. Was it important? Was it just junk? It's like Ackerman is asking us what is important.