Untitled 1991

Thomas Roma made this photograph, Untitled, a black and white print, sometime after 1950. I imagine Roma in a Brooklyn church with his camera, almost invisible, but trying to capture a moment of pure feeling and performance. The singer with the microphone has an open, ecstatic face, as if in a full state of emotional outpouring, and it makes me think about what that feels like when I am working in the studio. It's that point where you have to let go, stop thinking, and allow yourself to feel your way through. I love how the light seems to pour onto her white dress, making it almost luminous against the darker backdrop of the church interior. What does it mean to offer up one's feelings in public? There's a quietness to this image, despite the obvious intensity of the singer, and a sense of privacy amid a crowd. It reminds me of the way we seek out those private, reflective moments even when surrounded by others. I wonder if Roma also struggled with how to reveal and conceal with his images?