San Quentin Point, no. 8 Possibly 1982 - 1985

Lewis Baltz made this photograph, "San Quentin Point, no. 8" with, I'm guessing, a camera! It's a black and white photo where the lack of color actually amplifies the textures and forms. The image is a tangle. Branches, debris, and what looks like some kind of hanging moss or maybe even spider webs create a dense network. Look how Baltz makes the most of light and shadow to sculpt the forms. The contrasts between light and dark give everything a tactile quality, like you could reach out and feel the rough surfaces. There’s a fragment of corrugated metal on the left, catching the light, and it anchors the eye amidst all the chaos. It's funny, the metal almost looks like a minimalist sculpture. Baltz's work, especially his interest in urban and industrial landscapes reminds me a little bit of Ed Ruscha, another artist who found beauty in the mundane. What does it mean to find something beautiful in something broken? It’s a question, not an answer, a starting point rather than a conclusion.