Landscape as an Attitude 1979

Luis Camnitzer made this photograph, “Landscape as an Attitude”, using darkroom techniques and miniature figurines. The artist has arranged a tiny landscape of sheep, a house, and a tree, all carefully placed on the face of a sleeping person. The contours of the face become rolling hills, transforming human features into an expansive terrain. This interplay between the intimate and the vast prompts questions about perspective and scale. The figures are not hand-made by the artist. By incorporating prefabricated, mass-produced items, Camnitzer makes a commentary on the accessibility and commodification of landscape, and the way it becomes a mental projection. The work is more about how we perceive and internalize our surroundings. Thinking about the image in terms of process invites us to reconsider landscape, and challenge traditional distinctions between the hand-made and the ready-made, inviting us to reflect on the landscapes within us all.