Untitled #18 (Creek and Trees) 2017

Dawoud Bey made this photograph, Untitled #18 (Creek and Trees), in a dark room, using light and chemistry to conjure a space from almost nothing. The image appears nearly monochromatic, built of infinite shades of gray and black. Look closely. Notice how the textures emerge from the dark. The fuzzy, tangled bushes push against each other, broken by the smooth stream in the center. At the top left, see the sharp contrast that defines the bare branches of trees against the dark sky. It’s full of movement. The scene feels alive, breathing, like a living drawing. The darkness is not empty, but dense with detail. It reminds me of some of the great landscape painters like Courbet, who found something profound in the ordinary. Bey’s work invites us to slow down, to find the extraordinary in the everyday. It's a reminder that art is always a conversation, a way of seeing and feeling that continues across time.