Clearcut, Coos County, Oregon 1999

Robert Adams' photograph, "Clearcut, Coos County, Oregon", captures the rawness of the land. It's like a black-and-white painting, where shades of grey emerge through intuition. I imagine Adams standing there, framing the aftermath. What might he have been thinking, seeing this stark landscape? The stumps jut out of the earth, a physical manifestation of something lost. The scene is almost painterly in its composition. Each element – the jagged stump, the remnants of branches – contributes to a feeling of melancholy. There is a history of landscape painting and photography, artists like Gustave Courbet or Carleton Watkins, they’ve been dealing with it. Adams is adding his voice to this conversation, showing us the disquieting beauty of what remains after destruction. Artists are always in conversation with each other, across time and place, always responding. In its ambiguity and uncertainty, this photograph lets us reflect on our relationship with the environment. What do we gain, and what do we lose?