1993 | Indian Head, Anza-Borrego
My last visit with Henry Wessel, days before his passing, was over the phone. We had pre-arranged the call to review my pictures and sequencing for a book of altered landscapes. It was a wonderful parting (not that I knew it then), as I was able to write feverish notes, now treasured, without breaking eye contact with him.
Hank’s words, like his photographs, were clear, crisp, precise, intuitive, wholly articulate, and generous. He was able to share his understanding of photography just like he used the medium — he was a unique talent, an openhearted artist, a mentor to many.
This is what Hank said about this one: “So much information is descriptively set up for feeling that we are in a place so special, that is different from any other place. The camera is insisting in a democratic way that everything is as interesting as everything else. This picture serves as a schematic and thematic palette for the whole series; we see all the things, but no specific things take over.”