City TV (Berlin) #96/16 Possibly 1997 - 2009

Frank Thiel made this photograph, City TV (Berlin) #96/16, probably with a large format camera, to get all that detail and focus. Look at the way the leaves are so sharp, in contrast to the brickwork. All those ivy leaves, and some pine needles—the way they cluster and overlap makes me think of a very leafy, green painting. You could almost grab a brush and start painting the scene yourself, using the leaves like little brushstrokes. I wonder, was Thiel thinking about painting when he made this? Was he thinking about the relationship between nature and culture, or how surveillance has become part of the landscape? Maybe he just liked the way the light was hitting those leaves, who knows. Maybe it reminded him of other artists. It's a great reminder that art is always in conversation, that different art forms can inspire each other, and that seeing is always a way of thinking.