Elements of Recreation

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Elements of Recreation

Artist Lynn Whitney (American, born 1953)

Date1989

Dimensionsimage: 30.2 x 37 cm (11 7/8 x 14 9/16 in.)
sheet: 40.6 x 50.5 cm (16 x 19 7/8 in.)

MediumGelatin-silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. John T. Chiles

Object number

1991.26

Not on View

Label TextThis photograph of a campsite on the shoreline of a Michigan lake highlights the elements of earth, air, fire, and water. However, acknowledging a debt to photographers like Ansel Adams, Harry Callahan, and Nicholas Nixon, Lynn Whitney has produced a landscape that is more than a simple study of the four elements. The bent tree trunks suggest a tortured, wind-swept existence. The campsite’s popularity is attested to by the well-kept fire-ring and the newly built dock. The lack of litter and new grass suggests that it is springtime. Hazy and soft-shadowed, the image projects a dream-like feeling of vacations past.