[Group of Adults and Children on a Village Street in the Auvergne] 1905 - 1914

This is Felix Thiollier’s photograph of a village street in the Auvergne, with adults and children, printed with silver. It looks like it could have been made anytime, really. There's this softness, this lovely granular texture that suggests that the process wasn't trying to achieve some kind of perfect clarity. Look at the way the light falls on the faces, especially the woman standing slightly apart, hands on her hips. There's a strength there, a groundedness. It's not just about capturing a likeness, but more about capturing something about the weight of life. It reminds me a bit of some early 20th-century photography, like some of the work of August Sander, where there's a similar interest in documenting ordinary people in a way that feels both intimate and respectful. It is like Thiollier is saying, "Here we are, in all our complex, beautiful, and imperfect glory." And maybe that's what art is all about, this ongoing conversation about what it means to be human.