Barn and Car, Lake George 1934

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, Barn and Car, Lake George, with gelatin silver. It’s a small, intimate scene. The way the light falls, it’s almost like a painting - the textures are so rich, the barn’s wood grain and the grass, really tactile. But then, there’s this car parked inside, this little boxy thing, a hint of modernity, framed by this old structure, and it makes you think about time passing, about how things change, but some things stay the same. Look at the way the X of the barn doors mimics the shape of the car's spare wheel. It reminds me a little of some of Walker Evans' photographs, that same eye for the everyday, for the beauty in simple things. It’s like Stieglitz is saying, “Hey, even this mundane scene has something to offer, something to make you pause and think.” And isn't that what art is all about?