More Than a Rock, 2nd Edition

30On Art and Writing

I delight in photographsI delight in wordsI delight in mixing bothTo see what happens if they bend

My pity for the pure photographerMy pity for the pure poetIs tempered by the responsibilityI have to three mediaWhereas they to only one.

—Minor White

Painter Edward Hopper was known for his insistence on not discussing his work. Among his oft-quoted quips is this: “If you could say it in words, there’d be no reason to paint.” I believe the opposite holds just as true: things expressible in words cannot always be expressed in visuals. In a greater sense, I believe it is fair to say that although a degree of overlap exists among all means of communication—visual, audible, inscribed, or mixed—each also possesses a realm of expressions ...