In the Purisima hills Possibly 1908

Geldolph Adriaan Kessler made this photograph, ‘In the Purisima hills,’ sometime between 1900 and 1945. Looking at this black-and-white print, I’m struck by the human endeavor carved into the landscape. The textures are so interesting, from the rough-hewn wooden structure against the soft, rounded hills. Imagine the work of those people; the sounds, the smells, the feel of the wood under their hands. There's a tension here, an implied narrative: the meeting of human will and natural forms. It makes me think about other artists who captured the American landscape, maybe some of the photographers from the Farm Security Administration, who were also documenting human intervention in the environment. Ultimately, all of us artists are in dialogue, building on each other’s visions. What do you see when you look at it?