Untitled 1979

Curator: Richard Misrach created this untitled photograph in 1979. It is now part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. Editor: It's haunting, with that intense blue sky and the suggestion of something unnatural—a distant flight path, maybe? It gives a sense of foreboding. Curator: I agree that the composition elicits tension. The interplay of light and shadow, the stark contrast between the organic foreground and the geometric line in the sky—it disrupts any sense of serenity. Editor: The palms, though, strike me as symbols of resilience, maybe even hope, standing tall against the darkening sky. There is an interesting dialogue between the desert scrub and those iconic Southern California palms. Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe they simply heighten the sense of isolation, two lonely sentinels marking a desolate landscape. Editor: That’s a fitting observation. This image resonates with the complexities of the desert, both its beauty and its alienation.