Broken Mirror

          Helen Levitt was born in 1913 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. She dropped out from high-school to be a commercial photographer in the Bronx. After that, she developed her own vision, and started to present the social aspect of life through her photographs. She is now known for her photographs, which mostly capture children’s life and activities on the street. That includes playing and drawing with chalk on the ground or on walls. She was relatively an unknown photographer in her past life, but her work is worth seeing.

Helen Levitt, New York 1940

            This photograph documents the simple life everyone was living at that time, especially children. The main subject of the photograph are the children playing around the frame of a broken mirror. Each one is involved in an activity of his own.  Looking at this picture, one cannot help but compare fun activities for children living in that period of time and nowadays. Children found pleasure in simple things and were creative with the available tools they had because of the limitation of choices, far from iPads and smartphones.  Actually, simplicity in the environment was the reason she got interested in photography in the first place. I am drawn to the fact, or maybe sense, that no one notices the broken mirror, except for Levitt and the curious creatures we call children.

            The more I look at this amazing photograph, the more I admire it, as it allows me to see parts of these children’s memories. I can see their enjoyment, regardless of the differences in their styles or skin colors. Each child has a specific purpose to serve in the photograph, representing, in a way, a part of his personality. For instance, the boy collecting the glass from the broken mirror is concerned about the wellbeing of others. The other fully-clothed child with the stylish hair is helping with the same task, and is closely observing as if he is learning how to do it. What caught my eyes is the variety of outfits, suggesting the various backgrounds from which these children come. Some are fully clothed, some are only wearing one piece of clothing, and some are wearing torn pieces. However, as children, they are enjoying the moment in the middle of the street, and not caring about how they look. 

            Through her picture, Levitt had allowed me to see the ambiance of life in that past time, a fact that made me appreciate this type of work. After meditating into this photograph, I also ended up appreciating the memories people carry along from their childhood, and their significance in shaping up the person who carries them.