Baltimore, Maryland 1978

John Gossage made this photograph in Baltimore, Maryland, using gelatin silver. It’s as though the image grew into being, layer by layer. The foreground is dense with plant life, obscuring our view, yet the metal railing slices across, a dark horizontal. It both separates and links our space with the other side. There’s a constant play between revealing and concealing, light and dark. I wonder what Gossage was thinking as he framed this shot, trying to capture the essence of a place, and the life that unfolds within it. It reminds me of the quiet suburban landscapes by someone like Robert Adams, or even the painterly compositions of Edward Hopper, but with a touch more wildness! It makes me wonder if all artists are simply magpies at heart, drawn to the light, and the stories it reveals.