API 21932470 Slaughter, TX 2012

Mishka Henner created this artwork, API 21932470 Slaughter, TX, using photographic processes. It makes me think about the choices we make as artists when deciding what to reveal and conceal. Henner’s palette of browns, tans, and muted blues is like earth itself, raw and unadorned. Look closely, and you can see the texture of the land, the slight variations in color that tell a story of change over time. The network of trails spreading outward from the central site is reminiscent of the lines in a drawing or veins in a body, suggesting a kind of invisible infrastructure. It reminds me a little of Agnes Martin's grids, but in this case, the grid has been created by natural and industrial forces. This approach of allowing the process to dictate the outcome reminds me of Ed Ruscha’s photographic books from the 1960s, each work reflecting its subject matter while simultaneously offering an unedited view of the everyday. It's this ongoing conversation between the artist, the subject, and the medium that makes art so endlessly fascinating.