Wheatfield, France 1950

Paul Strand made this photograph, Wheatfield, France, in the early 20th Century. Look at the tonal range. It's like a study in greys, from almost white to deep black, the light playing on the texture of the wheat and the distant trees. It reminds me that even without color, there's so much to see. The whole thing feels so considered, so composed. Take a look at the way the small bundles of wheat are arranged in the field, like marks on a page, creating rhythm and depth. They almost resemble an alphabet, a language waiting to be deciphered. Strand, like some other photographers, was really thinking about what it meant to make a picture, and how it relates to painting, sculpture, other visual languages. His work has the clarity of Walker Evans, who followed him by a few years, and has the same respect and integrity. Both artists show us how to keep looking.