New Year's Eve, American Legion, Bangor, Pennsylvania 1980

Larry Fink made this photograph at an American Legion in Bangor, Pennsylvania. It’s a black and white image, a kind of snapshot aesthetic, but the tonal range is so subtle. The deep blacks contrast with the almost luminous whites of the celebratory streamers draped across the revelers. Fink’s process seems really intuitive, finding the right moment, the right angle to capture something fleeting and raw. It’s kind of like a painter's approach to gesture, where the whole image is made up of a series of marks, in this case interactions between people. Look at the way the light catches the woman's face to the right of the frame. Her expression is kind of hard to read, a mix of defiance and vulnerability, but the detail is incredible, and the texture of her skin is almost palpable. I’m reminded of some of Diane Arbus's images of New York in the 1960’s, but Fink’s work feels more intimate and less voyeuristic. Ultimately the best art is about asking questions, not answering them, and this photograph definitely leaves you with plenty to think about.