Isn’t the absolute best time to visit museums the dead of winter? (Or alternatively, when it’s brutally hot?)  That was my thinking when I visited the National Gallery of Art to catch some exhibits before they leave and came upon a huge show of documentary photos from the 1970s.

If you’re wondering why this topic is museum-exhibit-worthy, here’s the introductory text:

The ’70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography focuses on this compelling and contested moment of reinvention when the genre’s scope expanded to include marginalized voices, experiments in form, and conceptual and performative practices. The many documentary approaches that emerged in this decade reflect a radical shift in American life – and in photography itself.

Alternative landscapes – wth?

My real surprise was a whole room of so-called “alternative landscapes,” which made me wonder what “landscape” even means. That reminded me of the History of Landscape class I took at U. Maryland, which taught me that “landscape” can mean any land changed by humans, Stonehenge being an early example.) 
So as we’re waiting for spring bulbs to put on their show, take a look at a wildly different definition of  “landscape.”  Just don’t expect gardens.  Or plants at all.  We’re off-topic here.

First, some views of suburbia:

“The Tract Houses”

From the exhibit:

“Lewis Baltz’s The Tract Houses captures the austere geometry of the shoddily built homes that sprang up in California’s suburban landscape beginning in the mid-1940s. Straight-edge architectural details, positioned strictly parallel to the picture plane, recall the reductive forms of minimalist art. Entire, recently constructed houses appear forlorn. None of the pictures include shadows, clouds, or people. Baltz’s series is a powerful critique of the transformation of the American landscape into an unending terrain of anonymous architecture. At the same time, the exquisitely rendered tones and textured surfaces emphasize the subtle beauty to be found in this bleak environment.”

Click to see lots more tract house images by Baltz.
“View, Globe, Arizona.”

“View, Salt Lake City, Utah” by Joe Deal.“Walapai, Arizona.” by Henry Wessel.“Utah” by Henry Wessel.“Grain Elevators Minneapolis” by Gohlke.

‘North Edge of Denver” by Robert Adams.

“Interstate near Denver” by Robert Adams.