Untitled [New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 2005] Possibly 2005 - 2010

This photograph, taken by Richard Misrach in 2005 in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, uses a very specific palette: a kind of washed-out, grey-tinged world, punctuated by the orange of the graffiti. The act of photographing is a kind of mark-making. It’s a process of selection and framing, not unlike choosing colors for a painting. Look at how the orange ‘Broken Dreams’ cuts through the muted tones. The fence, with those words spray-painted across, becomes this raw, emotional barrier. The texture of the wood, the way the paint bleeds into it, all speak to something immediate and visceral. It’s not just a sign; it’s a scream. Misrach's work often deals with our scarred landscapes. Think of Robert Adams, another photographer preoccupied with similar themes; both artists share a desire to frame and capture the scars we leave on the world. The ambiguity here is powerful. What dreams? Whose dreams? It's open, raw, and very much a question.