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

Louis Faurer made this photograph, Family, Times Square, New York City, at an undetermined date. The grey tones of the gelatin silver print are gorgeous. Look at how the shades build up to create the figures, the architecture and the light! Faurer was a master of capturing everyday life, and he seemed to have an understanding that the decisive moment may be fleeting, but so is everything else. I love the contrast between the grit of the city and the family’s almost awkward stillness. It’s like they’re there, but also not really present. There's a kind of flatness to the poses that is also completely real. The boy on the left is a stand out. The detail in his face is so much in contrast to the blur of the background. Like, think of Robert Frank, or even Garry Winogrand, Faurer seemed to be part of that movement of photographers who were really tuned into the poetry of the street. It feels like a snapshot, but a profound one. In the end that’s what it is to be a painter, a photographer, an artist: to create a record of passing time.