Snow over Pivot Agriculture, near Liberal, Kansas 1995

Curator: This is Emmet Gowin’s 1995 photograph, "Snow over Pivot Agriculture, near Liberal, Kansas." Editor: My first impression is of something massive, strangely scarred. The texture makes it feel like I’m looking at an artifact that has eroded away. Curator: Gowin is known for his aerial landscape photography, often capturing the impact of human activities on the environment. The circular patterns are the result of center-pivot irrigation systems, where a long sprinkler arm rotates around a central point. Editor: So, that circular pattern isn't naturally occurring, but a consequence of industrial agriculture? It’s both a testament to human ingenuity and a somber visual comment on environmental control. What’s compelling, materially, is the printing; I see how Gowin pushes tonality through these monochrome prints. Curator: Exactly. It’s almost a celestial map. The single black hole-like point draws the eye—a symbol of both a center and perhaps an absence or even loss? I think it encourages contemplation of the changing American landscape. Editor: The snow itself almost looks like a delicate coating on the earth, highlighting these almost alien-looking circular fields. This play with tone makes the actual printing feel monumental. It really forces me to consider the implications of land use in Kansas, down to the physical process behind producing it. Curator: The title tells us this aerial view is grounded, though: Liberal, Kansas. What readings and symbols might you bring from that name? Editor: Hmmm, well I find the starkness of this piece disquieting; it is not what I usually call beautiful. It challenges assumptions about what we extract from our land and its physical transformations. I now read those etched lines as akin to work markings from laborers or weathering of material used in a factory. Curator: Gowin captures both abstract beauty and an environmental story—allowing it to function as a symbol for larger issues facing rural America, and prompting questions about balance, and cost, as the piece enters the symbolic order. Editor: This is one that lingers in the mind long after viewing.