Rhode Island c. 1965

Harry Callahan made this photograph in Rhode Island, in silver gelatin. It’s like a mass of tangled lines, kind of like when you're painting and you don't quite know where you're going, you just keep adding lines and marks, and a form begins to emerge— or not! I wonder if Callahan felt that way too, just wandering around, snapping photos, hoping something interesting would come of it. I can imagine him walking through this landscape, feeling the weight of his camera, thinking about light and shadow, trying to capture the essence of this place. It's wild how different the world looks in black and white. It's like all the color gets distilled into form, texture, and light. I think, in a way, making a painting or photograph is like having a conversation with all the artists who came before you. You're picking up where they left off, adding your own voice to the mix.