Fotomontage van President William Howard Taft die in Missouri een menigte toespreekt tussen reusachtige gewassen (uien, mais, kolen en aardappels) 1908

This is an early 20th-century photomontage by William H. Martin featuring President William Howard Taft, who's giving a speech in Missouri amongst giant crops. It's like a fever dream. You can almost imagine Martin carefully cutting and pasting each element together, piecing together a narrative that's both celebratory and surreal. What's it like to be the artist here? What kind of guy do you have to be to dream up this odd scene? There are potatoes, onions, corn, and cabbages. It's like some kind of botanical garden, but also a comment on agricultural abundance and political theater. I feel a kinship with Martin. He's like an outsider artist, or a folk artist, making something that's both funny and a little bit profound. He's collaging way before collage was cool! He’s a medium for a dream, a vision. And it reminds me that artists aren't just making things in a vacuum. We're all in conversation with each other, riffing off of ideas and images that have come before us.