The Merrival Family's Buffalo Ranch Possibly 1984 - 2004

John Willis made this photograph of "The Merrival Family's Buffalo Ranch" with a camera, lens, and photographic paper. It is awash with delicate greys and shades of brown and white. I wonder what it was like for Willis to take this photo - the patience of waiting for the right moment, for the mist to hang just so. The angle from which he has taken this image gives the herd a sense of slow, foreboding mass, and renders the ranch as a site of eerie liminality. The fog obscures the landscape, creating soft edges that push the buffalo into the foreground. The textures of the buffalo are rendered in striking detail in contrast to the background haze. I'm reminded of the epic landscapes of Albert Bierstadt, or maybe even some of Gerhard Richter's seascapes. All these artists share a profound sensitivity to light and atmosphere. Artists are constantly echoing and revising the work of the past. I am, you are too, in your own way. Art is not just about seeing, but about feeling and interpreting, and Willis captures that beautifully.