Salvatore Mancini
Petrified Forest, Arizona1986
gelatin silver print
20 x 13 3/4 in
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist in honor and memory of Aaron Siskind
Printed in extremes of black and white, Salvatore Mancini’s view of a rock-strewn hillside centers on an upthrust finger of stone that pierces the dark sky as well as the picture’s edge. The petroglyph near the bottom reminds us of the region’s ancient Anasazi civilization. Mancini dedicated this picture to his photography teacher, Aaron Siskind, an artist well-known for his preference for abstract forms and graffiti.
