Colorado Springs Possibly 1968 - 1983

Robert Adams made this gelatin silver print, Colorado Springs. It's a study in contrasts, isn't it? The stark black and white palette really emphasizes the geometric forms, making you think about how the building itself is constructed from so many little marks, each brick a tiny rectangle of dark against light. It's such a careful composition. Look at the silhouette of the child in the window. That small, dark shape is so precise, so perfectly framed by the light. The figure looks like a cutout, like a dark note in the center of a musical bar. It’s so present, yet at the same time, remote. It suggests so many stories without actually telling any. It reminds me a little of Edward Hopper, though Adams’s eye is very much his own. There's such ambiguity here, which is something I always appreciate in art. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, always open to new interpretations.