The art book "TWO LIVES" by Georgia O'Keeffe, a leading American female painter, and photographer Alfred Stieglitz. I remember the vivid surprise I felt when I opened this book as if it were yesterday. I had always loved O'Keeffe's work and would gaze at her art books with admiration. Yet, when I looked at the paintings in "TWO LIVES," I found myself seeing them as completely different from the O'Keeffe I had known. It was a strange sensation.

O'Keeffe's paintings and Stieglitz's photographs. Each work is placed on facing pages. The two were artists, and also husband and wife. As I looked at their works, I felt as if the history of their mutual creative inspiration, support, and affection was quietly washing over me. It seemed that because their relationship and the time they spent together truly existed, a different impression, a subtle sensation, was born within me, unlike when viewing her works individually.


Later, O'Keeffe was drawn to the landscapes of New Mexico and moved there, spending the latter half of her life in that region. There, she created numerous works inspired by flowers, the sky, mountains, and animal bones. New Mexico, which captivated O'Keeffe. What kind of place was it? I enjoyed imagining the land while sensing the atmosphere and sounds conveyed through her paintings. That world of intense yet profound colors. I, too, eventually came to want to visit that land.

Later, I learned from the shop owner that it was the sky over El Paso, photographed by a Japanese artist. It's just a stone's throw from New Mexico. For a coincidence, it's quite close. I'm sure it must be the same sky O'Keeffe saw. I was delighted to know that such things can happen.

I will likely travel to New Mexico in the near future. Once I see the land's charm and landscapes with my own eyes and feel them with my skin, my perspective might change when I look at the same paintings again. That kind of journey would also be wonderful.