Untitled (model window, open) c. 1950

This photograph of an open window model was made by Robert Burian, but we don't know when. Look at how he uses tone and light in a very subtle way: you can see the world outside and what is reflected on the surface of the glass, which makes you consider the space around the depicted window. What strikes me most about this image is the way Burian has captured such a mundane object, and elevated it to something almost ethereal. The textures are subtle – the grain of the film, the smooth surfaces of the window frame, the slightly out of focus background, all of which add to its mystery. The window is like a threshold, the fine line that separates the interior from the exterior. This reminds me of some of the early modernist photographs. Artists like Alfred Stieglitz, who could see the poetry in everyday life, helping us see the world in new ways.