Gezicht op een terp bij Tószeg 1928

Jan Lanting made this photograph, ‘Gezicht op een terp bij Tószeg’ or ‘View of a mound near Tószeg’, with gelatin silver print, using a camera of course. In this landscape, the earth looks like it’s been sculpted, and I mean that in a hands-on kinda way. It’s rough, it’s uneven, a real contrast to the smoothness of the sky, creating a grounded yet dreamy vista. The texture of the earth is so palpable; you can almost feel the grit and the weight of it. And the way the light hits the side of the mound, casting shadows, makes me think about the earth as a repository of time, with the layers of sediment speaking to a history we can only imagine. The way Lanting captures this earth reminds me a little of some of Alfred Stieglitz’s cloud studies – the way both artists find such depth in monochrome, such variety of tone and texture. It’s not just about what’s depicted, but how it’s depicted. And in the end, art's about looking, feeling, and maybe messing around a bit, too.