San Quentin Point, no. 33 Possibly 1982 - 1985

Lewis Baltz made this photograph, San Quentin Point, no. 33, the same size as a piece of typing paper. It shows a patch of dry dirt, twigs, and little stones, probably not unlike what was outside his window or maybe a piece of earth he found on his shoe. I imagine Baltz noticing the light hitting this tiny landscape and thinking, "Aha! Here's a chance to elevate something completely overlooked." I can feel him bending down, fussing with the focus, trying to find the perfect angle to make this ordinary stuff look monumental. There's something really touching about the way he frames this little piece of the world. It's like he's saying, "Even the smallest, most insignificant things deserve our attention." It reminds me of Ed Ruscha photographing every building on the Sunset Strip, finding beauty in the mundane. Artists like Baltz and Ruscha show us that art isn't just about grand gestures; it's about noticing the world around us and finding poetry in the everyday.