New Orleans
Artist
Michael A. Smith
(American, b. 1942)
CultureAmerican
Date1985
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 7 5/8 × 19 9/16 in. (19.4 × 49.7 cm)
Overall, Support: 12 15/16 × 24 15/16 in. (32.9 × 63.3 cm)
Overall, Support: 12 15/16 × 24 15/16 in. (32.9 × 63.3 cm)
Inscribed(N82-8504-48/67 #6) Signed and dated mount recto, titled, numbered and dated mount verso.
Credit LineGift of Doug and Joan Hansen
Object number2005.28.5
On View
Not on viewLabel Texttop Michael A. Smith American, b. 1942 New Orleans, 1985 Gelatin silver print (photograph) Gift of Doug and Joan Hansen 2005.28.5 bottom Frank Gohlke American, b. 1942 Aerial View, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1981 Gelatin silver print (photograph), from the portfolio American Roads, 1982 Museum purchase 86.159 Even when landscape photographers claim neutrality, their pictures often betray the tension between humankind and nature. Above, Michael A. Smith uses a unique wide format to create what he calls a “rhythmic event.” The vertical lines of arena lights harmonize with tall palm trees, as if nature and civilization are in balance. The palms, however, have been pruned until nearly bald, revealing that even nature may be under human control. Below, Frank Gohlke provides an aerial view of an interchange construction site. The highway’s proud geometries demonstrate human power over nature, while irregular, eroding embankments and long shadows suggest the environment continues to resist control. Gohlke, however, seems not to be making a statement about this relationship and is instead drawn to the abstract arrangement of forms. ProvenanceDoug and Joan Hansen, Mill Valley, CA [through photography collector Michael Mattis]; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, Gift of Doug and Joan Hansen, 2005. Exhibition History"New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016.
