Earth Forms

The traditional template for landscape composition is widely inclusive: valleys, mountains, sky, clouds, people, animals, shrubbery, etc., but the photographic eye of Strom (Secrets from the Center of the World; Otero Mesa) sees natural landscapes as a medium for the exploration of form. Using the compositional vocabulary of cubism, Strom examines linear and two-dimensional relationships-lines, curves, ovoids, polyhedrons and other geographical abstractions-with painterly, square, deliberately-framed compositions. In these images, largely from the American Southwest, expanse and distance are never obvious: the sky never appears, so the mind seldom considers the view in three dimensions, perceiving instead a flat expanse. While some images celebrate the horizontal, the main focus is on the intersection of naturally occurring angular forms. Strom also uses color (often in plants) like Georges Braque and later artists: to outline, highlight, and emphasize contrasting forms and angles. With a few exceptions, these photos were taken in the desert southwest. Superfluous closing text by Albert Stewart is a prime example impenetrable contemporary art criticism, full of incomprehensible jargon. Taken on their own terms, these photos are a wonder and a challenge.