Nautilus c. 1927 - 1949

Edward Weston made this silver print of a nautilus shell sometime in the early 20th century, and what gets me right away is how he coaxes out all these luminous tones from something so simple. It's like he's painting with light. Look at the way the shell glows against the dark background. Weston really knew how to work with the material of photography, pushing the contrast just so, to make the texture of the shell almost palpable. I can practically feel the smooth, cool surface and those ridged edges. And that spiral! It’s like the golden ratio made visible. Weston was known for his close-ups of natural forms, like peppers and cabbages. He found the abstract in the real. Think of the surrealist photographer Man Ray. Both teach us that art is about seeing the world in new ways, finding beauty in unexpected places, and letting the material speak.