Aspens, Northern New Mexico Possibly 1958 - 1980

Ansel Adams created this photograph, *Aspens, Northern New Mexico*, without specifying the date, and you know, that's kind of perfect. I imagine him, camera in hand, waiting for just the right moment, the light slanting through these slender trees, the aspens. They stand so straight. The challenge of the photograph must have been to get the stark contrast of the white bark against the dark forest. Like a calligraphic mark, each tree makes a line, a gesture. I wonder if Adams felt a sense of kinship with those trees. The quiet, almost meditative repetition reminds me a little of Agnes Martin’s grids. Both artists found a way to translate the quietness of nature into something abstract, something almost spiritual. When you look at the photograph, you can feel the cool air, the stillness.