Stieglitz on Photography - His Selected Essays and Notes. . - book review

Stieglitz on Photography - His Selected Essays and Notes Compiler: Richard Whelan Publisher: Aperture Books, [c] 2000 286 pages, US $34.95

Alfred Stieglitz was born in Hoboken, NJ on January 1, 1864. During training at the Berlin Polytechnic in Mechanical Engineering, he purchased a small camera -- this led him to abandon engineering for photo-chemistry and to begin his photographic career. He was a very passionate advocate of photography as an art, and a pioneer exhibitor of modern art in the United States. He is best known for his landscapes, especially in his use of sky and clouds to suggest the emotive qualities of the scene, and for his portraits and collaborative work with his wife, the artist Georgia O'Keefe. He died in New York City, NY on July 13, 1946. Richard Whelan, the Compiler / Annotater of this text, has written a biography of Stieglitz and other studies of art and photography. Sarah Greenough, Curator for Photography at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, has compiled the full bibliography of Stieglitz and his art which completes this text. PSA members who attended last year's conference in Albuquerque will be interested to note that she is a graduate of the University of New Mexico.

This book consists of 48 key articles, from the late 1800s to the 1930s: Stieglitz was a prolific writer and theorist, and while his photographs themselves are his major legacy, his theories of photography -- particularly his insistence that it be taken seriously as an art form -- have had a major influence on the field. For example, in response to a question as to what was his favorite photograph, he selected his 1894 study, "Mending Nets." This is a portrait of a Dutch woman seated among a far-stretching series of dunes, with a rather drab sky in the background. There is little immediately startling about the picture, but Stieglitz observes that he has successfully caught the "seriousness and peacefulness" of the scene, and represented the "sturdy" nature of the Dutch fishing families. The cunning nature of the composition may at first escape us; however, when we look for a while, we see how the white hat of the woman draws attention to her profile and from there, we follow her intent gaze to her hands working so precisely on her net. The precision of her work and her absolute devotion to it give focus to the deceptively bland and unvaried setting. It is indeed a noble photograph. On a more technical level, articles such as that on "Platinum Printing," and advice, such as that on "Twelve Random Don'ts," are informative and stimulating to photographers of all levels.

The entire text, with the insightful comments by Richard Whelan, allows the non-historical photography expert to understand how and why Stieglitz was such a powerful and influential artist and theorist.

Reviewed by Timothy Morton, APSA

COPYRIGHT 2001 Photographic Society of America, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group