How is an Old Cabbage Leaf Art?

A black and white photo of a cabbage leaf by Edward Weston with the simple tittle of Cabbage Leaf  is considered a beautiful piece of artwork. Really, a piece of old looking, wilted lettuce photographed in black and white with a black backround.
The above discription seems silly to some, but if you were to look at the photo before reading the description of the photo, you would immedately see the beauty in the photo. Actually, at first glance, I didn't even know it was a cabbage leaf. I thought it was the train of dress or fondant or clay of some short molded into a cascading mound of folds and curves. Without knowing its cabbage, I want to touch it and see if is soft and delicate as it looks, or even try on the skirt of silk I thought it was.
After reading it was a piece of wilted cabbage, I changed my view of the photo. I didn't want to eat it or touch it because I could image it being wilted and smelly. It is essentially a piece of garbage meant for the compost pile or rabbit food. I do still find the photo beautiful though. Why? It is just a black and white photo of wilted cabbage afterall.
The angle from which the leaf was photographed and way the light is falling over each fold and the shape of the cabbage makes the cabbage leaf beautiful. In fact the wilted and old quality that makes the cabbage  undesirable for consumption is what lends itself to being so pretty and delicate. A fresh, crisp piece of cabbage that would be great to eat may not be as beautiful as the piece in the photo.
This photo of cabbage is a perfect example of the old saying, "One man's trash is another man's tresure".