Farm wife lives on the Great Plains. Nebraska 1940

Dorothea Lange’s photograph captures a farm wife in Nebraska. Look at how she sits, the way she holds herself, and the expression on her face. The setting is simple, humble. I try to imagine Lange setting up her camera, framing the shot. What was she thinking? What did she want to capture? There is a directness to her work. A sense of quiet observation. A connection, maybe, between the photographer and her subject. Think about Lange’s other photographs. About Walker Evans, too, and all those artists who were drawn to the rural landscape. What are they trying to tell us? What do they see in these people, in these places? How do they make us see it too? It’s a reminder that art isn't just about what's on the canvas, or in the frame, but about the exchange, the questions, the endless conversations that continue long after the artwork is done.