[Unstagram] The World Seen from a Few Steps Back

Stepping Back to See Through an Objective Lens Reveals the Lives of Individuals
Others Are Not Just Dots in the Crowd, But the Centers of Their Own Universes

In the painting "Census at Bethlehem" (1566) by Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel, there is no central figure who stands out as the main character. It depicts a bustling yet tranquil winter scene in a medieval village. Unlike many visual artworks that place the subject at the visual center, this painting seems to freeze each individual's moment in time, each with their own story. The distinct appearances and actions of these ordinary people are rendered with delicate detail-what we might now call "meticulous." Among the many figures, the Virgin Mary is depicted with no more prominence than the others. Behind a group of people gathered to pay taxes to an official, Mary, pregnant with Jesus, arrives on a donkey, blending seamlessly into the scene.

While Roman and European painters of the time often depicted the radiant moments of the Bible, Bruegel chose to portray a humble, contemplative, even cold moment. Hidden within this idyllic scene is the harsh reality the artist wanted to convey. Art can sometimes state its intentions directly, but at other times, its true meaning lies buried in an indifferent appearance, only gradually revealing itself. The story embedded in the painting is the suffering of the common people. The artist concealed the chaotic and absurd reality of having to pay taxes to Spanish lords-foreign rulers-within the landscape of Bethlehem just before the birth of Jesus.

'Census at Bethlehem'. Brussels Old Masters Museum

Not only the Virgin Mary, but every person in the painting is living through their own desperate moment. Even when life feels urgent, it often appears ordinary and trivial to others. The pains and urgent moments of the world are not highlighted at the center of the composition, but are cast alone into individual pockets of time. In this objective perspective, each person’s time passes, and the artist simply shows or hints at it without insisting on a narrative.

If you see the countless people passing by on the street as just dots within the crowd, then you too are just a dot in the eyes of others. When you take the time to observe a painting like this carefully, stories that were once invisible begin to emerge. Sometimes, even in photography, the focus shifts from the message to the individual lives captured from a few steps back. This is why landscape photos teeming with people, taken decades ago by earlier photographers, still tell vivid stories. The people in those images are not just small subjects in the frame; in their own lives, they are the center of the universe.

By taking a step back and viewing the world through this kind of perspective, we can see the concrete lives of individuals we usually overlook. For those with discerning eyes, even "I"-just one among many strangers-becomes visible.