Carte photographique de la lune, planche V.A (Photographic Chart of the Moon, plate V.A) Possibly 1900 - 1914

Charles Le Morvan made this photographic chart of the moon, plate V.A, at an unknown date, using photography. It's all about the process of looking, isn't it? The texture here is everything. The craters, rendered in such detail, feel almost tactile. You can practically run your fingers over the surface. What strikes me is how Le Morvan uses light and shadow to sculpt this alien landscape. It's a study in contrasts, the stark blackness of space meeting the subtle gradations of lunar rock. There's one crater, just off-center, that catches the light in such a way that it seems to glow from within. That single focal point illuminates the whole piece. Thinking about the moon, and the way artists like Vija Celmins have depicted it... it's a reminder that art is always in conversation with itself, across time and space. There's no single way to see the moon, or anything else for that matter.