As I looked through New Deal Photography, I decided to write about the photo placed on page 219. Its setting is the Union Station waiting room in Chicago, Illinois, and was taken in January 1943 by Jack Delano. The photo is black and white, and the negative spaces are mostly dark, poorly or filled with shadows. The station itself seems to be mostly empty, although a few people here and there are captured within the photo. One person appears to be walking, a few people are sitting on a bench, and others are speaking with an officer. Just by looking at the photo, I can feel the vacant and calm mood.
In the center of the photograph, amidst the dark, shines multiple rays of light. These rays are breaking through the intricate patterns of a large window that is placed high on one of the station’s walls. The lights scatter through the window and onto the floor of the station, highlighting certain areas of the ground. Although it’s such a prominent view of the scene, none of the people seem to be aware of the light rays. All of them are too preoccupied with their businesses to look up and see the light.
The photo seems so simple, but it’s so fascinating nonetheless. Its setting may connotate a feeling of routine, but the light rays add vibrancy and energy. What could’ve been a dark and gray scene is lit up with glimmers of white, angled at different areas of the floor and speckled on the ground. The rays breaking through the window give this photo life, and the contrast between light and dark is so striking — it was definitely the first thing I noticed, and what intrigued me about the photo in the first place. It’s crazy how this view was captured in a train station, a place where people rush to come and go. It makes me think about how we may become too busy focusing on getting to the next destination that we forget to capture the beauty of what is happening in front of us. Sometimes, all we have to do is look up.
