Lincoln Park, Chicago 1948

Harry Callahan made "Lincoln Park, Chicago" without a date, but probably sometime in the mid-20th century, using gelatin silver print. It's a photograph, sure, but really it's about mark-making! The tonal range is so subtle; that expanse of white is so beautiful. You could get lost in it. But then your eye is drawn back up to the glass. Callahan teases out a wealth of texture. Up close, that tiny glass shimmers and dances. It’s incredible how Callahan can make a glass on a grey surface so emotionally resonant. It's so pared back, so essential. I think about other photographers like Minor White, who were interested in the emotional potential of the everyday object. In photography, as in painting, there are no fixed meanings, only possibilities.