Cooling tank, nuclear power plant, Gravelines, France Possibly 1989 - 2006

American photographer Lewis Baltz's "Cooling tank, nuclear power plant, Gravelines, France" (1989-2006) is a stark black and white photograph capturing the imposing, grid-like structure of a nuclear power plant cooling tank. Baltz, known for his documentary-style photography, often focused on the impact of industrialization and modernization on the landscape, using a detached and objective lens. His work raises questions about the environmental and social costs of technological advancement, as seen in this photograph of the imposing, repetitive structure of the cooling tank, which suggests both the power and the potential danger of nuclear energy. The work exemplifies the genre of New Topographics, a photographic movement that emerged in the 1970s and focused on the documentation of the American landscape in a way that emphasized the impact of human intervention.