Mud Cracks, Death Valley

Weston’s formal studies focus closely on a subject to remove it from its larger context, and highlight such properties as shape, contour, line, light, and shadow. His early interest in formal studies may have been inspired by the work of artists in his father’s circle in Mexico, such as Tina Modotti, whose photographs are celebrated for revealing the beauty in the quotidian through the abstraction of everyday objects.

Weston used this technique on a variety of subjects ranging from the organic to the inorganic. Some subjects remain identifiable, whereas others are more ambiguous. He employed a number of devices to render common objects strange, such as photo-graphing them from unexpected angles or through reflective surfaces.

Similar to his fascination with sweeping sand dunes, Weston likewise continuously turned his lens on the subject of cracked mud. Capturing a minute detail of the vast and dramatic landscape of Death Valley, the mud crack motif exemplifies Weston’s interest in extreme close-ups of the natural world.