Act II: The Voyage: And strange Botanical Species Possibly 1980 - 1981

Arthur Tress, sometime in the last century, created this photograph, "Act II: The Voyage: And strange Botanical Species," which looks like a stage set, a theater, or a diorama. The color palette feels muted, almost sepia-toned, giving it a kind of vintage, dreamlike quality. Imagine the artist, Tress, arranging this scene with all these odd elements, probably feeling like a magician or a stage director. It's like he's asking, what if the ordinary became extraordinary? Here's the everyday eggplant transformed into a vessel, holding a light bulb – a symbol of illumination, literally and figuratively. There are these juxtapositions between nature and artifice, like the botanical garden backdrop and the manufactured light. I'm thinking about other image makers, like Hannah Höch, maybe, who were collaging and playing with found images, but Tress brings a tender quality to it. It’s like he’s inviting us to see the world with new eyes, where even a humble vegetable can hold a universe of possibilities.