| Community Zoe : Articles : Alfred Stieglitz |
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Alfred Stieglitz by Dan Scenna (c) Dan Scenna for Community Zoe, 2004 All rights reserved. |
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Alfred Stieglitz is often called the father of modern photography because of his driving force in the fight to have photography recognized as an art form. Camera Work was one of the greatest accomplishments of Stieglitz in his mission to bring the level of photographic art in the United States up to the level of work being produced in England and Europe. After leaving The Camera Club, New York and the editor's position of Camera Notes in 1903, Stieglitz pulled together the leading photographers of the day who were committed to making photographs as forms of art. He formed a new organization called the Photo-Secession, and exhibited members photographs at his gallery, "291", and published their photographs in his own magazine which he called Camera Work. “ * (from Lee Gallery www.leegallery.com/stieglitz.html, brief bio of Alfred Stieglitz) |
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Who is Alfred Stieglitz and why is he influential to me and my work? He died in 1946, ten years before I was born, and 50 years before I concentrated on the human form. And yet, to me his photographs of Georgia O’Keefe, the artist (and his wife) are examples of some of the most sensual, erotic and yet uplifting pictures I have ever seen. Like many of his contemporaries, he did not limit himself to a specific subject matter. He did what would later be known as street photography to great effect. See his photo “The Steerage” if you ever want to see pictures commenting on society and the human condition. He photographed cityscapes and architectural scenes every bit as effectively as anyone. His series on the skyscrapers of New York are iconic. It’s New York at the peak of its glory. His street scenes are both very much captures of his time and yet, timeless. But, it is his photographs of his wife, Georgia O’Keefe that speak to me the loudest, the most deeply. Their relationship was a strange one. He was much older than she and when they met, he was an established name in the New York art world, while she was a new and struggling artist. He was very influential in starting her career in that he introduced her work to the public. Those of you who know O’Keefe’s work, know that she needed little else to be successful. Of the two, she is by far the better remembered. |
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But it is her role as subject and Muse that intrigues me. This is a woman, with her own successful art career, who posed (recognizably) nude and allowed the photographs to be displayed in the early 1920’s and 30’s. What an incredible woman. And, what a subject. Just her hands are sensuous. Georgia O’Keefe was not a classically beautiful woman. She certainly did not fit the stereotypical look of her day. But she was a strong woman. Her physique was long and lean, well defined and fit. Her face was handsome, and seemed to emit character. And Stieglitz captured that and more in his photos. His portraits of her are stunning. They speak to me across the years. I want to know this woman. I want to speak with her and listen to her words. And tell me, isn’t that the goal of portraiture? To strike that spark in the viewer? To make that connection? He accomplished this and so much more.
Eventually, Stieglitz and O’Keefe separated. She left New York City and moved to the southwest. Her art and career are legend. Stieglitz moved to his Lake George home. He spent his last years recording his rural life and concentrating on photographing clouds (his “Equivalent Series”).
Sources: George Eastman House - www.geh.org/fm/stieglitz/htmlsrc/ Lee Gallery, 9 Mount Vernon Ave., Winchester, Mass, 01890 http://www.leegallery.com/index.html Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum. The above article was by Dan Scenna, for presentation on the Zoe Art Community, all photos are by Alfred Stieglitz. No other use is authorized, without permission. |
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