Salton Sea C1 2007

Matthew Brandt made this photograph, Salton Sea C1, sometime this century. I’m looking at this image and imagining the process of making it: the patience required to capture the nuances of light and shadow in this landscape of water and sky. The photograph is bathed in warm, sepia tones, with a minimalist composition: a solitary tree, or maybe a bush, stands in water. I’m curious about the texture of the photograph. Is it smooth and glossy, or does it have a tactile quality, like old paper? I wonder if Brandt was thinking about the history of photography when making this image. What was he thinking when he decided to isolate this one tree? Photography and painting are constantly inspiring and informing each other. Each work contributes to this exchange of ideas across time, inviting us to reconsider our perceptions and interpretations.