Description

This is a large scale photograph of a female nude. An enchanting figure trespasses under looming clouds, through a desolate, apocalyptic terrain. She surveys a long dirt road, her hand to her forehead. Marsh grasses and palmetto trees line the unpaved trail that extends to the horizon. Tracks and footprints are fading reminders of travelers long gone from this barren scene. Nonetheless, she seems undeterred by the dead-end road or what perils may lurk in the brush.

Free of garments, she contrasts with the environment as a clearly evolved, social being. Surrounded by a gray overcast sky and a correspondingly somber landscape, the upright figure is radiant. Additionally, her bright salmon hue is an exclamation point amongst the muted colors of the landscape.

Dark clouds loom over her torso, emphasizing her as a focal point in the composition. Three triangular areas include the road and the foliage on either side. These converge to a vanishing point at the height of her hips. This emphasis of perspective is amplified by the wide-angle lens. Also, the horizon is curved by the optics. The distorted perspective imparts a heightened feeling of three-dimensionality, motion through time, and invites us into this version of reality.

Traditional landscape painting showed figures surveying developed property they owned. Painted nudes often used landscape as a decorative backdrop for celebrating the beauty of the body. Some paintings of nudes in landscapes provide a range of aesthetic elements to contemplate. This large scale photograph follows the second tradition more than the first. It is unclear that this might be land that she owns. Furthermore, it presents a wilderness, of the type that few would seek to own. The image presents two elements, the female nude and the landscape as visual comparisons. There are few clues of her purpose in this place, leaving us to consider textures, colors, and form.