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Toshio Shibata

Black and white photograph showing the undulating asphalt road above a dam.

Toshio Shibata, Grand Coulee Dam, Douglas County, WA. 1996, gelatin silver print. Purchase, Gift of Lorna C. Ferguson, Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, 1998.15.

Since the mid-1970s, Toshio Shibata has used his camera to explore the interaction of natural and human forces within man-altered landscapes, with a particular emphasis on those produced by large-scale civil engineering projects. This dramatically cropped view of the Grand Coulee Dam—at the time the world’s largest concrete structure—displays the photographer’s characteristically sensuous treatment of surface, texture, and line. By eliminating the horizon and any glimpse of scenic wonder, Shibata directs our attention to the dam’s concrete infrastructure. Although no water can be seen, the inky flow of black asphalt, guided by the undulating line of the guardrail, recalls the powerful hydraulic current harnessed by the dam, prompting us to reflect on the interplay between the organic and architectural.