Double-wattled Cassowary, San Antonio, Texas Possibly 1989 - 1990

Volker Seding took this photograph of a Double-wattled Cassowary at San Antonio Zoo in Texas. I am imagining Seding, adjusting the lens, and thinking about light and shadow. The dark plumage of the bird against the sandy ground and stone walls... You can see it all, the texture and form, creating a sense of place. I wonder about the animal, this huge bird, and what it’s like to live like that – pacing, looking, enclosed. The light and shadow make a kind of graphic pattern. He’s working with formal elements, but also trying to get at something about the animal’s life. It reminds me a little of what Guston said, that he painted what was in front of him, and what was in front of him was himself. Seding has seen something of himself in this Cassowary, in this enclosure. Artists are always learning from one another, building on the language of mark-making and image construction. It’s an ongoing exchange of ideas, a conversation across time, inspiring creativity.