Issue No. 28 – Control

What is the nature of control? The desire for it—and to be free of it—are essential parts of both life and art.

Exhibition Review: American Silence: The Photographs of Robert Adams

Exhibition Review: American Silence: The Photographs of Robert Adams

The River's Edge, 2015
© Robert Adams, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Written by Nikkala Kovacevic
Copy Edited by Janeen Mathisen
Photo Edited by Yanting Chen


Robert Adams’ dedication to capturing American landscapes shines in American Silence, a collection of 175 images that span decades. The black-and-white photographs showcase Adams’ career-spanning journey as an avid documentarian of the ever-changing yet consistently resilient American West. They were taken across the country and depict everything from sprawling fields to amusement parks. As a whole, the collection of photographs display Adams’ message of conservation and resilience. 

Weld County, Colorado, 1981, printed 1987
© Robert Adams, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Adams spent his childhood in New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Colorado, and each place gave him appreciation for natural landscapes.  It wasn’t until he spent time outside of the U.S. that Adams discovered the distinct marvel of American landscape and industrialization, a subject he then decided was worth capturing. Adams specifically found interest in the “complexities” of American geography—the separation and crossover of nature and industrial and suburban life that is so specific to America. 

Garden of the Gods, El Paso County, Colorado, 1976
© Robert Adams, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

North of Keota, Colorado, 1973
© Robert Adams, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Whether it’s a lone tree stump in a field or a motel parking lot, Adams has devoted himself to capturing specific scenery within his works. Although his chosen subject matter can appear bleak at first glance, it has a foundational, beautiful “silence” which is conveyed through the palpable stillness in American geography: the contrast of intense movement and change alongside pervasive melancholia.  

East from Flagstaff Mountain, Boulder County, Colorado, 1975
© Robert Adams, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

While Adams began his career capturing the suburbs of Colorado juxtaposed with the state’s intense natural beauty, his current collection displays a contrast between natural landscapes and human intervention. Adams’ goal has been to consistently showcase the scale and power of American nature as it looms over the creation of man-made structures. Through his photographs, bleak scenes of American suburbs are transformed into silent reminders of our impact on natural landscapes, as well as the ability of said landscapes to endure the weight of industrialization. 

Lakewood, Colorado, 1973
© Robert Adams, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Poplars, Harney County, Oregon, 1999
© Robert Adams, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

The presentation of these photographs as a collection also presents a striking retrospective in an era plagued by conversations of climate change and irreparable damage. Contemporary conversations surrounding the climate crisis feel encapsulated in the present day, when in reality, the conversation has existed for decades. Photographs such as The River’s Edge (2015) and East from Flagstaff Mountain (1975) offer viewers the ability to appreciate the weight of nature and the impact of humans from a bird’s-eye, decade-spanning view.

For Adams, the often overlooked silence of the American landscape offers a unique power he tirelessly respects in each iteration of his photographic thesis. These pockets of stillness resonate heavily within his work, whether it’s in a piece from the beginning of his career or the present day. The persuasive stillness, silence, and majesty of his work conveys the eternal stoic grace of American geography, resulting in photographs that can only be described as timeless.

The Sea Beach, 2015
© Robert Adams, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

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