La Poele, Vaux-le-Vicomte, France 1996

Michael Kenna made this gelatin silver print, La Poele, in Vaux-le-Vicomte, France. Looking at the composition, the linear arrangement of trees leads your eye into the scene, and the subdued tones create a sense of calm. The reflections in the water are so still, it's hard to tell where the real world ends and the illusion begins. Photography, like painting, is about layering and building up images. Here, the texture of the sky and water add a tactile dimension, which is enhanced by the tonal range of the grayscale. This range invites you to look closer. Take, for instance, the way the branches tangle together, mirrored in the water, they create an intricate web. It makes me think of how Ed Ruscha used photography to catalog the world around him. Kenna, like Ruscha, finds beauty in the everyday. It is a reminder that art is often about seeing the world in new ways. It's about embracing the ambiguity of seeing and not needing to have all the answers.