Neahkahnie Mountain, Oregon 2004

Robert Adams made this photograph, Neahkahnie Mountain, Oregon, using gelatin silver. With its quiet tones, it feels more like a drawing than a photograph, actually. The composition is so simple, almost sparse, with these leafy branches peeking in from the corners against that huge field of grey-white. The paper has this subtle texture, you know? It’s smooth, but not too smooth, with just a hint of tooth that catches the light. It makes you want to touch it. What I like is how Adams uses this vast space to create a feeling, almost like a held breath. There’s this one branch at the top, all fuzzy and dark, and it kinda anchors the whole thing. It reminds me a little of Agnes Martin, in that way. It invites you to slow down and look and look. Art isn’t about answers, right? It’s about the ongoing conversation, the looking and thinking and feeling.