W oblokach (In the clouds) 1916

Jan Bulhak made this photograph, In the clouds, sometime in the early 20th century. It's a study in tone, mainly greys and whites, and it’s about the possibilities that emerge when you surrender control. In artmaking that might mean accepting ‘accidents’ and incorporating them into the final work. The physical texture of the print is smooth, but the image itself is full of implied texture, especially in the rendering of the clouds. The figure is almost incidental, but their outstretched arms echo the horizontal spread of the cloud formation, and the tones match pretty much exactly. This piece reminds me a little of the atmospheric landscapes of someone like Caspar David Friedrich. Both artists capture the sublime power of nature. Ultimately, this work reminds us that art is often more about questions than answers.