Looking Up Pluto's Chimney 1865 - 1866

Carleton Watkins created this photograph titled, "Looking Up Pluto's Chimney." Here, we observe a fissure in the earth reaching towards the sky. The title itself evokes Pluto, the god of the underworld, immediately casting this image within the realm of classical mythology and ideas of the sublime. Pluto's domain, dark and mysterious, is often represented by caves and chasms, gateways to the unknown. This image of the "chimney" resonates with ancient depictions of the underworld and the mouth of hell found in medieval art. The vertical orientation of the image and the upward gaze draw the viewer's eye from the dark earth to the celestial light above. The interplay between darkness and light might also be seen as a visual manifestation of our deepest fears and hopes. It is a recurring theme throughout art history, suggesting a cyclical return to primal human emotions. The human psyche, like the Chimney, seems to always search for light within darkness.