Untitled 1945

This stark photograph was made by Frederick Sommer. It's a super intimate close-up, almost confrontational, of animal remains against the earth, devoid of any sentimentality or nostalgia. The textures are so present: bone, sinew, the arid earth. Look at the way Sommer captures the stark contrast between the smooth, almost polished look of the bone, against the matte, rough texture of the earth it lays on. There's a rawness, and this pushes against our tendency to want to pretty things up. Sommer invites us to consider the beauty in decay, in the overlooked aspects of existence. Thinking about photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe, both Sommer and Mapplethorpe shared an interest in life, death and the beauty of form, creating a dialogue across different mediums and themes.