Pepper

As a child in 1902, Edward Weston saw an exhibition of photographs at the Art Institute, a visit that he later stated "changed my whole life." During a three-year sojourn in Mexico, Weston developed a friendship with the painter Diego Rivera, who taught him to focus on the sculptural form of natural objects. In Pepper #30, a familiar object has been transformed into a potent presence. The curves and folds of the pepper suggest the flesh and sensuous contours of a human torso.