Jalapa 14 (Homage to F.K.) 1973

Aaron Siskind made 'Jalapa 14 (Homage to F.K.)' with photography. Look at those massive shapes in black against the white. I can imagine Siskind hunting for these gestures in the world. Did he see them all at once, or did he have to tease them out? The black marks are thick and bold; they feel like a painter's gesture. I wonder what F.K. would think? Maybe Franz Kline? Or perhaps it's a totally private joke or homage. It's a dance between intention and accident. You have the physical presence of the marks, how the light hits them. How can a photo be so painterly? These kinds of images remind me that everything is abstract. Every painting, photograph, or drawing begins with the artist seeing something and translating it into a set of marks and lines. Siskind's conversation with other painters continues!