Baltimore, Maryland 1978

John Gossage made this photograph, Baltimore, Maryland, and well, it’s a moody scene. Gossage is working with shades of grey here, not aiming for any kind of easy beauty, more an investigation of tone, and its effects. I find myself getting happily lost in the tangle of foliage, the way things are hidden and revealed. There’s a fence, a boundary, separating us from what lies beyond, but the plants push up against it, blurring that neat division. The leaves themselves, each with its unique shape and texture, create an almost dizzying effect. It's a dense visual space. It’s tempting to compare him to someone like Robert Adams, in their shared interest in the American landscape, but Gossage has his own distinctive, slightly detached way of seeing the world.