Family, Times Square, New York City Possibly 1950 - 1991

Here's a photograph by Louis Faurer, taken in Times Square, New York City. Look at the way the light flares and smears, how Faurer coaxes mood from monochrome. I can imagine him, prowling the streets, camera in hand, feeling for the right moment. What was it like to stand there, watching the faces in the crowd, waiting for the perfect arrangement of figures to coalesce? The picture is melancholic and filmic, with a documentary grain. The family stares out, trapped and exposed, caught in the glare of the modern city and the photographer’s gaze. The bright lights evoke a sense of unease and alienation, amplified by the subjects' wary expressions. Faurer was part of a generation of photographers including Robert Frank and Helen Levitt, who turned their backs on commercial photography and embraced the aesthetics of the street. I imagine them egging each other on, finding a strange beauty in urban blight. Each photograph is a fleeting moment, a conversation between the artist and the world.