"Rock Wall"

West Hartford, Connecticut

gelatin silver print

signed, titled, dated (pencil) and copyright stamp on verso

In 1959 Paul Caponigro came upon a rock wall at a roadwork construction site in West Hartford, Conneticut, and was struck by its jagged surface, as if it were an abstract artwork created by nature.
“The textures, shapes and lighting in this photograph suggest that it might be a painting rather than a photographic record of the basalt wall,” he wrote in his book Visual Memories and Hidden Places (2023), “and in fact some viewers, upon seeing the photo, relate the image to the painting by Marcel Duchamp known as Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)” He added, “The painting and my photo reveal very similar forms and shapes, but of course I prefer looking at my own photograph to observe the wonder and play that can be found in nature’s whimsical ways.”
(Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 25.11.2024)