Sequoia Roots, Mariposa Grove
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More About the Image:
The Sequoia Tree, or Sequoiadendron giganteum, is one of the single largest organisms on Earth. Growing only on limited, climate appropriate land on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California, its protection, specifically The Mariposa Grove, was an impetus for the creation of The Yosemite Grant in 1864; this would eventually lead to the creation of The National Park System and The National Park Service. Here, Ansel Adams has found a particularly unique set of sculptural roots, intertwined and gnarled from millennia of stable support to a stately gentle giant overhead. Likely photographed in shade or under cloud-filled skies to allow for balance of exposure, this composition removes us from the context of the size of the root system. The movement of the roots belies any rigidity, for their highlighted edges appear like a dancing flame and rising smoke, free of burden, alight and beyond any earthly weight or worry even in the face of their charge. This image was included in Ansel’s Portfolio 4, published in 1964, and was later added to the Special Edition of Yosemite series signifying its importance among the artist’s collective works. At the end of his life, Ansel communicated the significance of this image by including it as one of the variants in his last major project, The Museum Set.
