Real Estate #91315 1991

This photograph, Real Estate #91315, was taken by Henry Wessel; he just pointed his camera and clicked. He wasn’t trying to be fancy. I love the dusty feel of this image. The color palette, pale blues and muted yellows, feels like it's been sitting in the sun too long, which I guess it has. Look at the way the light washes over the façade of the house, turning the clapboard siding into a kind of abstract grid, this play of light, line, and plane feels so painterly. It’s like Wessel wasn't making an image of a building, but something more, an image of light and shadow. The shadow cast by the porch roof creates a dark void, a quiet area in contrast to the bright exterior. What I think is compelling about this image is that Wessel photographs the everyday. Think of the New Topographics photographers of the 70s and how they shifted our perceptions of the American landscape. Wessel shows us that even the most mundane scenes can be beautiful, or at least interesting.