Quiet Patience

I adore this photograph. It reminds me of a twenty-first century version of this 1967 photo [link] of a Viet Nam war protester in Washington DC.

It's wonderful to me on a few counts. Although I prefer to feel a work of art rather than analyze it, I see many aspects to provoke thought here if a viewer were so inclined.
moviegirl composed the photo so that our attention goes first to the musician and then his guitar before crossing the street to investigate the crowd before the harsh lights.
I love the soft tension in the musician's body, the gentle curve of his torso and slightly bent knees, the seeming protective stance he takes relative to his instrument while his attention is outward. I love the ambiguity of the crowd, in that my first reaction to a mob is to feel threatened, but when you look into the dark faces and read the sign demanding 'Free the Refugees' a sense less of peril and one more of tentative curiosity prevails. The musician seems to perceive them the same way.
That he waits for them to disperse and then continues making music is a bit of a poem to me. One could judge the musician for small-mindedness in the face of civil activism. One could berate the crowd for abusing the sanctity of art. One can sit a moment and consider the meaning and value of each form of expression among humankind.
It's tender and hard, melting sweet and angry voices all at the same time.
I could wish the image was lighter and crisper, but that in no way diminishes the deep and quiet pleasure I take in this photo.