Real Estate #902516 1990

This photographic image, *Real Estate #902516,* was made by Henry Wessel, using, I presume, a handheld camera, and the real world in front of him. The texture here is so… matter of fact. It shows the rough facade of the little house. It’s like a study in beige, cream, and tan, all under a blue sky. The color palette is muted and kind of melancholy, but that's also what gives it a certain charm. The boarded-up window on the left tells a story of abandonment. It's not about hiding the process, but about presenting the reality as it is. Look at the way the light hits the house. It's not overly dramatic, just a gentle wash that reveals the details. This reminds me of some of the New Topographics photographers, like Robert Adams. They were interested in the banality of the everyday, finding beauty in the mundane. Wessel does that here, capturing the quiet, understated beauty of this little house. I think the work shows art as an ongoing conversation about how we see.