On Signal Hill, overlooking Long Beach, California Possibly 1983 - 1990

Editor: This is Robert Adams' gelatin-silver print, "On Signal Hill, overlooking Long Beach, California," probably from the 1980s. It’s a cityscape shrouded in fog, viewed through the stark branches of two trees. The whole scene feels a little bleak and…uneasy, I guess. How do you interpret this work? Curator: That feeling of unease is key, I think. Adams' landscapes often portray the intersection – or collision – of the natural world and human development. Consider the title: "overlooking." Who is overlooking whom, or what? What is the power dynamic at play when we position ourselves above the land, the city? Editor: It makes you think about perspective, literally and figuratively. Is Adams criticizing the urban sprawl? Curator: It’s less about direct criticism, and more about a sober assessment of our impact. Think about the history of landscape photography. It often romanticized the land, erasing evidence of human presence. Adams disrupts that tradition. He acknowledges the complex relationship, the push and pull between nature and industry, which might suggest something about class, gender and identity in relation to natural landscapes. Editor: So the beauty is sort of…tainted? Or at least complicated? Curator: Exactly! The ‘beauty’ of the composition – the delicate branches against the hazy sky – is interwoven with the reality of a sprawling urban landscape that encroaches on that nature. It forces us to confront the trade-offs inherent in progress, in the American Dream itself. Does this new understanding shift your initial response? Editor: It does. It's not just bleak; it's a challenge to consider what we value and what we're losing. Curator: And how that loss disproportionately affects certain communities. Thinking critically about art is never passive, it requires action.