Carte photographique de la lune, planche II.A (Photographic Chart of the Moon, plate II.A) Possibly 1908 - 1914

This is Charles Le Morvan's "Photographic Chart of the Moon, plate II.A", a photograph, from who knows when. It's like a landscape made of bumps! The light is raking, and you can see the way the shadows define the craters, making them seem almost touchable. Look at the texture, that gray on gray on gray. It’s not just flat information; the gradations of light and dark really give it depth. It feels so physical, like you could run your fingers over the surface and feel the grit. It makes me think about how we know things: not just through seeing, but through touching, feeling, experiencing. There's this one little crater, with a raised edge, like a tiny, perfect eye staring back at you. It reminds me of Vija Celmins' drawings of the night sky. Art is such a funny business, this constant back and forth, looking and responding. It’s all one big, ongoing conversation, isn’t it?