Neahkahnie Mountain, Oregon 2004

Robert Adams took this photograph, Neahkahnie Mountain, Oregon, using gelatin silver. Look at how the light is hitting those leaves. Some are full of holes, and that makes me think about impermanence, doesn't it? Adams wasn't interested in pretty pictures; he wanted to show the real world, warts and all. The texture of those leaves – you can almost feel the rough edges. And the way the branches reach up, it's like they're trying to grab something. It reminds me of some of Alfred Stieglitz's cloud photographs. He wasn't interested in just clouds; he was interested in how they made him feel. Adams is doing something similar here, using the landscape to talk about something deeper. Art isn't about answers; it's about asking good questions.