Book excerpt: A moving and sophisticated investigation into the nature of vision. American artist Clifford Ross's photographic and video practices over the past thirty years reveal one of the most incisive and technically sophisticated investigations into the nature of vision in the medium's history. Clifford Ross: Sightlines showcases the range and depth of Ross's art by presenting the inexhaustible variety of visual experience he has created with just two primary subjects: mountain and sea. In our era of unprecedented environmental peril, his inventive exploration of these iconic subjects conveys a powerful creative engagement with landscapes that are both majestic and fragile.