Clematis vitalba c. 1900 - 1930

Richard Tepe made this photograph of Clematis vitalba using gelatin silver print, sometime between 1880 and 1920. It's like, what did Tepe see, feel, or remember when he focused on this particular corner of the natural world? The leaves, the stems, and the dense clustering of tiny flowers all push forward with a soft-focus intensity. The light seems evenly distributed, creating a visual field where everything has equal weight. There's a generosity to Tepe’s eye. He wasn't trying to capture something exceptional, but rather, he found something exceptional in the ordinary tangle of life. It makes you think about the potential for art to emerge from a place of quiet observation. The way Tepe saw the world changed how we see it too. Photography, like all art, is an ongoing conversation. It’s about taking what was and making it new.