Review // Ashley: Robert Adams: "Summer Nights, Walking"

One of the exhibitions that I chose to go to for this assignment was the “Summer Nights, Walking” exhibit of Robert Adams’s work. The exhibition consisted of about fifty photographs, which all appeared to be taken at night, or very late in the evening. They were all taken with film, and did not appear to have been taken with a flash. The illumination of the photographs seemed to come mainly from streetlamps and houses, although a few of the photographs appeared to be lit by the moon. The pictures, however, were not evenly lit by these sources of light and often only a part of the photograph or a particular object was illuminated, while the rest of the photograph gradually faded into darkness. A large amount of the photographs were of plants. These plants were often weeds that appeared to grow along side of the road; few of the plants appeared to be a part of any sort of garden or even to have been placed in their location by human hands. Roads and pathways were also a major subject of the photographs. These pathways were often partially illuminated but always appeared deserted. In fact, there did not appear to be any people in any of the photographs, except for one, in a picture of a fair. I felt that these photographs were about how the haphazard lighting at nighttime selectively illuminates things and changes our perceptions of the world around us, and how it feels to be alone at night, walking through this changed world.

The irregular lighting that occurs at night often showcases things that would be ignored during the day. Several of these photographs showed small, weed-like plants along the side of a road, illuminated by nearby streetlamps or some other type of man-made lighting. These light sources were obviously not intended to illuminate these plants; however, the plants often appeared as though they were under a spotlight meant for them. Walking through these places, during the day, one would neither notice nor care about these plants, however, at night, by virtue of the light thrown upon them, they suddenly become a focus of attention. This light also emphasizes the beauty of the plants; the light on them often creates a silhouette effect that accentuates their elegant lines.

There also seems to be a complex relationship between nature and human life in these photographs. It is the light from man-made objects that illuminates these plants, and allows a viewer to appreciate them. The houses that are photographed also seem to be connected with nature. In one of the pictures, the shadow of a tree is illuminated against the garage door of a bland suburban house and in another the plants inside the window of a house seem to become a part of the shadow of a tree projected on the house.

These pictures also convey a sense of the solitude of walking around at night and the feeling of mystery that seems to pervade all nighttime excursions. The roads and pathways in the photographs always seem to be empty and do not appear to lead to anywhere specific. Often, only a part of a pathway is lit, while the rest is obscured by darkness. In the distance, the dim lights of neighboring towns or houses can often be seen and seem to beckon the traveler onwards, although to where is never clear. These photos all seem very lonely, although one feels the presence of people even if they remain unseen. The empty chairs in several of the photographs seem to suggest people, and in one photograph, a portrait of a person can been seen in the interior of a house. The picture of the fair, which seemed to me, at first, incongruous with the rest of the pictures also suggests the presence of people, although the viewer remains on the outside and can only look at it from a distance.
P.S. Here is a link to 12 pictures from the show, several of which I discuss in this post http://www.matthewmarks.com/exhibitions/2010-02-06_robert-adams/works-in-exhibition/#