Clearcut, Coos County, Oregon 1999

Robert Adams made this gelatin silver print, “Clearcut, Coos County, Oregon,” to highlight environmental issues. Adams, part of the New Topographics movement, documented the impact of human activity on the American West, particularly during a period of rapid industrial expansion. The image is stark and unflinching. Adams presents a landscape stripped bare by logging. The massive tree stump dominates the foreground, a monument to both nature's grandeur and its vulnerability. This was made during a time of growing environmental awareness in the United States, with landmark legislation like the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act being passed. Adams' photograph serves as a visual critique of unsustainable logging practices and their devastating consequences for ecosystems. The image does not shy away from showing an unromantic version of the impact of production on nature. To fully understand this photograph, one might consider environmental histories of the Pacific Northwest, studying the role of logging in the region's economy and culture.