Art Forms in Nature 50 1928

Karl Blossfeldt took this photograph, Art Forms in Nature 50, and I bet he felt like he was painting with light. There's a drama in these leaves. They are so dark against the light background, and they reach out like fingers, or maybe crab claws. These are not the kind of leaves that you would want to touch your face, you know? They look almost dangerous, like the fronds of some alien seaweed. It is interesting to think of Blossfeldt taking photographs of plants at the turn of the century. It makes me think of the photographs of people in that era: stern faces, stiff poses. I wonder if he thought of these photos as portraits too, bringing out the inner life of each plant. In a way, the plant is like a person, with all of its angles and details, and its rough edges. I think he really saw the nature of nature.