0:00:00.669,0:00:03.586 (soft piano music) 0:00:07.688,0:00:10.688 (mellow jazz music) 0:00:15.309,0:00:16.410 - It's been 20 years, 0:00:16.410,0:00:18.623 since I took the last pictures from here. 0:00:20.710,0:00:23.450 I spent three-four years photographing 0:00:23.450,0:00:26.050 this incredible view of the[br]Bay over and over again. 0:00:28.080,0:00:28.913 Take this out. 0:00:31.166,0:00:31.999 Put the film in. 0:00:34.210,0:00:35.980 I was stunned. 0:00:35.980,0:00:37.540 You'd think that the Golden Gate Bridge 0:00:37.540,0:00:39.350 would always look the same. 0:00:39.350,0:00:40.833 It's never the same. 0:00:51.200,0:00:54.193 When I look back on my[br]works, it's a time machine. 0:00:55.230,0:00:58.343 It triggers memories[br]that otherwise are gone. 0:01:05.991,0:01:09.110 (muffled chatter) 0:01:09.110,0:01:12.471 - I met Richard at a dinner[br]party at Thanksgiving. 0:01:12.471,0:01:17.471 (switch clicks)[br](projector whirs) 0:01:18.020,0:01:20.860 But we really clicked[br]when I did a story on him 0:01:20.860,0:01:22.930 for Mother Jones about the bombing range 0:01:22.930,0:01:24.363 that he was working on. 0:01:25.283,0:01:28.450 I have actually written a[br]lot about our lives together, 0:01:28.450,0:01:30.120 on the road. 0:01:30.120,0:01:34.450 At some point, I'm not[br]sure if I should read that. 0:01:34.450,0:01:35.533 - And action. 0:01:37.640,0:01:40.540 - It has been 12 years[br]now of this adventure 0:01:40.540,0:01:43.923 joining Richard on his[br]travels to remarkable sites. 0:01:44.810,0:01:47.180 What stands out most, 0:01:47.180,0:01:51.150 the post-apocalyptic[br]landscape of Bravo 20. 0:01:51.150,0:01:55.713 Its stillness of things[br]obsessively, methodically destroyed. 0:01:58.730,0:02:01.620 His affinity for the desert runs deep. 0:02:01.620,0:02:04.233 A landscape many consider a wasteland. 0:02:05.140,0:02:07.140 Nothing could be further from the truth. 0:02:09.010,0:02:13.180 Here, the earth is alive,[br]simultaneously old and new. 0:02:13.180,0:02:15.760 There are salt beds as bright as snow 0:02:15.760,0:02:19.740 and silver-green pickets, white dunes, 0:02:19.740,0:02:24.073 and rock formations as improbable[br]as any modern sculpture. 0:02:28.370,0:02:32.130 He was incredibly passionate[br]about everything that he did 0:02:32.130,0:02:34.283 and he also had a great sense of humor. 0:02:36.321,0:02:38.281 ♪ Moo, moo ♪ 0:02:38.281,0:02:42.214 ♪ I saw you standing alone ♪ 0:02:42.214,0:02:45.964 ♪ Without a calf of your own ♪ 0:02:47.900,0:02:51.793 They've never run away[br]from me before. (chuckles) 0:02:54.822,0:02:58.822 - I think the whole thing[br]was rather enchanting. 0:03:04.003,0:03:07.003 (mellow jazz music) 0:03:11.760,0:03:14.323 - Eric, I'm coming down.[br]We can pin up somethin'. 0:03:14.323,0:03:15.156 - Okay. 0:03:16.750,0:03:19.080 - In the early days,[br]Myriam traveled with me. 0:03:19.080,0:03:20.650 Otherwise, nobody's ever gone with me 0:03:20.650,0:03:22.450 across the country to take pictures. 0:03:23.290,0:03:26.520 She went to the dead[br]animal pit, bombing ranges, 0:03:26.520,0:03:28.330 the nuclear test site. 0:03:28.330,0:03:29.430 It's freezing in here. 0:03:30.330,0:03:32.660 These were a lot of[br]places where I was very 0:03:32.660,0:03:35.173 politically involved, as[br]well as photographically. 0:03:37.230,0:03:40.290 - In the early days he asked[br]me something about a photograph 0:03:40.290,0:03:41.390 and I said, "Well, it's beautiful." 0:03:41.390,0:03:44.470 And he said, "'Beautiful'[br]is an empty signifier." 0:03:44.470,0:03:46.460 I went, "Oh, okay." 0:03:46.460,0:03:49.570 - I know that the viewer can't 0:03:49.570,0:03:51.160 think what I'm thinking and that's fine. 0:03:51.160,0:03:52.360 They're not supposed to. 0:03:55.580,0:03:57.730 But I wanted everything I created here 0:03:57.730,0:04:00.660 to have a conceptual foundation. 0:04:00.660,0:04:01.750 - He can't help it. 0:04:01.750,0:04:04.950 Even when it's something[br]incredibly beautiful, 0:04:04.950,0:04:08.053 he will always find some[br]sort of significance. 0:04:10.070,0:04:12.770 We've always gone to the[br]same place in Hawaii, 0:04:12.770,0:04:14.780 but he only thought about photographing 0:04:14.780,0:04:17.090 the water after 9/11. 0:04:17.090,0:04:19.613 He looked down and he saw these bodies. 0:04:22.520,0:04:25.550 - You see these small figures[br]in this vast sublime ocean 0:04:25.550,0:04:27.450 and you realize how vulnerable we are. 0:04:30.420,0:04:32.950 Photographs, when they're made, 0:04:32.950,0:04:36.770 can shift meaning with time, and often do. 0:04:36.770,0:04:39.030 There's lots of pictures I[br]like right away, but I know 0:04:39.030,0:04:40.800 that I'm gonna change my mind. 0:04:40.800,0:04:43.480 So I shoot them. I test them. 0:04:43.480,0:04:46.610 I make small prints.[br]Then I make large prints. 0:04:46.610,0:04:48.030 Then I kind of put 'em away, 0:04:48.030,0:04:50.530 sometimes for a year or two years. 0:04:50.530,0:04:54.231 Then I can see them really[br]fresh, like for the first time. 0:04:54.231,0:04:56.981 (peaceful music) 0:04:59.670,0:05:03.140 - In the warehouse, which[br]serves as Richard's studio 0:05:03.140,0:05:05.950 and was, until recently, our home, 0:05:05.950,0:05:08.430 there is a long dark corridor, 0:05:08.430,0:05:12.710 laden with shelves of[br]negatives and contact prints. 0:05:12.710,0:05:14.443 Tens of thousands of them. 0:05:16.030,0:05:19.180 Most of them will never[br]see the light of day 0:05:19.180,0:05:21.843 but they all harbor[br]the potential for life. 0:05:24.240,0:05:27.470 I think of them as dormant witnesses. 0:05:27.470,0:05:30.983 Each one, a record of a[br]single moment and place. 0:05:32.240,0:05:35.720 For me, knowing that Richard will not, 0:05:35.720,0:05:38.250 cannot throw them away, 0:05:38.250,0:05:41.473 adds to the mystery of the[br]photographer's process. 0:05:42.444,0:05:45.444 (cardboard scrapes) 0:05:47.680,0:05:52.250 - On these shelves are about[br]30,000 eight-by-ten negatives 0:05:52.250,0:05:54.163 that have never been printed before. 0:05:55.330,0:05:59.840 On this side here are boxes of contacts. 0:05:59.840,0:06:01.800 There are so many gems in there. 0:06:01.800,0:06:04.903 I found these beautiful images[br]I'd never printed before. 0:06:07.120,0:06:10.583 This is my beautiful wife,[br]Myriam, in the desert. 0:06:11.820,0:06:14.310 When I made these, I[br]couldn't really print them 0:06:14.310,0:06:15.890 because they might have had a scratch, 0:06:15.890,0:06:17.610 or the color might have been off. 0:06:17.610,0:06:20.510 So I put them away and[br]I didn't throw them out. 0:06:20.510,0:06:23.460 Now today, with digital technologies, 0:06:23.460,0:06:27.330 it's possible to scan them and fix errors. 0:06:27.330,0:06:29.513 Oh, look at these night skies. 0:06:30.840,0:06:33.359 I've never printed these before. 0:06:33.359,0:06:34.640 (mellow jazz music) 0:06:34.640,0:06:38.120 - I just think he senses[br]that time is running out 0:06:38.120,0:06:39.623 and he just wants to do more. 0:06:42.350,0:06:44.100 He's become more experimental. 0:06:44.100,0:06:46.933 He's open to pushing more boundaries. 0:06:47.830,0:06:50.310 Just letting go of some of the structures 0:06:50.310,0:06:52.303 that he'd lived by in the past. 0:06:53.950,0:06:55.740 It's just like, "No, why not?" 0:06:55.740,0:06:57.520 You know? Why not do that? 0:06:57.520,0:07:00.023 Just, just break the rules. 0:07:00.023,0:07:02.260 (energetic piano music) 0:07:02.260,0:07:03.093 - Got it. 0:07:07.190,0:07:08.940 Let's slide this one down that way. 0:07:10.540,0:07:14.140 Part of my routine for many,[br]many years is for me to drive 0:07:14.140,0:07:16.490 for two or three weeks[br]looking for photographs. 0:07:17.360,0:07:20.260 In the meantime, though, I[br]have done experimental bodies 0:07:20.260,0:07:22.870 of work over the years[br]that kind of shake me up, 0:07:22.870,0:07:24.830 make me think about things differently. 0:07:24.830,0:07:27.250 I would say that this[br]photograph comes out of that 0:07:27.250,0:07:28.733 experimentation mode. 0:07:30.180,0:07:34.690 The original image is like[br]twigs and branches on vegetation 0:07:34.690,0:07:37.120 with a technique that I use in Photoshop 0:07:37.120,0:07:39.580 to separate the color values. 0:07:39.580,0:07:41.760 It unnormalizes it and allows 0:07:41.760,0:07:43.660 for different kinds of interpretation. 0:07:44.620,0:07:46.380 In some respects, this neuron scrub 0:07:46.380,0:07:49.960 could look like a Jackson[br]Pollock painting, but it doesn't. 0:07:49.960,0:07:51.730 You still have some realism there. 0:07:51.730,0:07:54.710 You still have some[br]semblance of natural forms 0:07:54.710,0:07:55.833 that you recognize. 0:07:58.100,0:07:59.170 It's been interesting. 0:07:59.170,0:08:01.500 Recently, I was commissioned[br]to do all of the art 0:08:01.500,0:08:04.310 for the Pritzker Psychiatric[br]Clinic in San Francisco 0:08:04.310,0:08:08.510 that's just being built and[br]I couldn't travel for that. 0:08:08.510,0:08:12.810 - COVID happened at that[br]moment, and so what to do? 0:08:12.810,0:08:15.050 He couldn't go out there[br]and photograph anew. 0:08:15.050,0:08:17.930 He had to mine what he already had. 0:08:17.930,0:08:21.260 - I got all the kinds of[br]ideas of taking old images 0:08:21.260,0:08:24.210 and rethinking them in ways[br]I'd never thought about before. 0:08:25.917,0:08:29.250 - "How can I bring life into them?" 0:08:29.250,0:08:30.330 And before you know it, 0:08:30.330,0:08:32.460 he was looking at all sorts of things 0:08:32.460,0:08:36.970 that he probably would not ever[br]ever have considered before. 0:08:36.970,0:08:38.667 Every day, he'd be sitting there and say, 0:08:38.667,0:08:40.809 "Oh, you can't imagine what I found. 0:08:40.809,0:08:43.560 Come and look at that.[br]Come and look at that." 0:08:43.560,0:08:47.053 - I would make thousands of[br]experiments with Photoshop. 0:08:49.466,0:08:52.410 I would just play with them,[br]experiment, fool around. 0:08:52.410,0:08:54.053 Variations on variation. 0:08:55.250,0:08:57.913 And the whole project took off from there. 0:08:59.575,0:09:03.075 (mellow percussive music) 0:09:05.220,0:09:08.590 - One of the big challenges[br]that we face in psychiatry 0:09:08.590,0:09:10.510 in general, in medicine, 0:09:10.510,0:09:12.970 and in really embracing[br]psychiatry's part of medicine, 0:09:12.970,0:09:17.073 is this lack of care and respect[br]for inpatient facilities. 0:09:18.290,0:09:22.100 There's just a very direct[br]opportunity to use art 0:09:22.100,0:09:24.140 to say that we care. 0:09:24.140,0:09:25.513 Beauty is important. 0:09:27.430,0:09:30.060 We really hope that anyone[br]who walks in the door here 0:09:30.060,0:09:33.530 can be uplifted by the[br]physical environment. 0:09:33.530,0:09:36.340 That all of that will[br]contribute a sense of optimism 0:09:36.340,0:09:37.173 and hope. 0:09:44.800,0:09:48.043 - I'm in awe of the fact that[br]the Pritzker Clinic picked me. 0:09:49.940,0:09:51.980 A lot of my work is very tough work. 0:09:51.980,0:09:54.050 Things that could be a potential trigger. 0:09:54.050,0:09:55.370 Not the kind of thing you would expect 0:09:55.370,0:09:56.753 in a psychiatric clinic. 0:09:58.400,0:10:01.180 I've dealt with very,[br]very challenging issues. 0:10:01.180,0:10:06.113 Cancer alley, petrochemical[br]America, the border wall. 0:10:07.300,0:10:08.900 But I always wanted to balance that 0:10:08.900,0:10:10.453 with really beautiful things. 0:10:11.880,0:10:12.913 Like the sea. 0:10:14.010,0:10:15.183 Sky pictures. 0:10:16.150,0:10:17.363 The Golden Gate Bridge. 0:10:19.240,0:10:22.853 It's like a foil against the[br]darker projects that I've done. 0:10:25.016,0:10:28.183 (distant waves crash) 0:10:33.550,0:10:35.113 50 years, looking back, 0:10:36.130,0:10:38.363 I realized I needed beauty in my life. 0:10:43.550,0:10:46.370 - When he senses a photograph to be taken, 0:10:46.370,0:10:49.817 his attention turns away[br]from everything else. 0:10:49.817,0:10:52.430 "Time out", he asks politely. 0:10:52.430,0:10:56.030 His face takes on a weird, strained air. 0:10:56.030,0:10:59.410 It's the sort of face you make[br]when you're completely alone, 0:10:59.410,0:11:00.743 unselfconscious. 0:11:03.920,0:11:06.860 If he feels that you're[br]watching, he smiles, 0:11:06.860,0:11:09.080 and occasionally apologizes. 0:11:09.080,0:11:10.920 (camera shutter clicks) 0:11:10.920,0:11:13.593 He is unsparing in his determination. 0:11:15.790,0:11:17.140 Hours go by. 0:11:17.140,0:11:18.440 He waits. 0:11:18.440,0:11:20.110 We all wait. 0:11:20.110,0:11:22.470 He waits for the light to do things. 0:11:22.470,0:11:24.883 Things he has learned to[br]expect from experience. 0:11:26.637,0:11:28.370 "Look over there", he'll call out, 0:11:28.370,0:11:30.877 pointing to a section of cloudy sky. 0:11:30.877,0:11:32.590 "In about five minutes, 0:11:32.590,0:11:34.687 the light is going to be incredible." 0:11:37.750,0:11:40.073 Often, there are surprises. 0:11:45.876,0:11:50.876 (mellow jazz music)[br](camera shutter clicks) 0:12:00.372,0:12:03.705 (camera shutter clicks) 0:12:09.473,0:12:12.806 (camera shutter clicks) 0:12:14.721,0:12:18.054 (camera shutter clicks)