Ledgers 1953

Walker Evans made this photograph of ledgers using, I imagine, a large format camera, with its capacity for detail. Look at how the light catches on the cylindrical forms of the books; it's soft and even, but the detail is sharp. I imagine the act of photographing these ledgers was almost devotional. The ledgers themselves are fascinating. They are numbered and titled: "Ledger," "Cash," "Gratuity Fund". Their surfaces have the patina of use; they are stained and marked, their spines faded. These objects speak of the everyday transactions of life. The typography is clear and straightforward, but then consider the cabinet beside them; it’s ornate. Evans wasn’t precious about subject matter; like Eugène Atget, he saw beauty in the mundane. Both artists understood the power of the photographic medium to transform the everyday into something extraordinary. For me, the photograph is a meditation on time, memory, and the beauty of the ordinary.