Arethusa bulbosa- Arethusa Wild Pink 1931

Edwin Hale Lincoln made this photograph, Arethusa bulbosa- Arethusa Wild Pink, which looks to me like a sort of dance, using light and shadow rather than paint. Look how he coaxes a gray scale of tones from these botanical specimens: some darker, others pale almost to white. What’s so compelling here is the texture. Although it’s a photograph, I find myself imagining the physical process, the hours in the darkroom, the smell of the chemicals, the patient work to produce the contrast between the velvety blacks and the luminous white background. My eyes are drawn to the velvety texture of the long leaves in the center of the composition. They almost vibrate against the pale background, like charcoal rubbings. I’m reminded of Karl Blossfeldt, who also used photography to capture the hidden structures of plants. Like his work, there's a tension here between scientific observation and something deeply emotional, even spiritual. It's as though Lincoln isn't just documenting the plant but revealing its inner life. And that, to me, is what art is all about.