Prints, Drawings, and Photographs The Steerage Made in United States, North and Central America1907 (negative); c. 1913 (photogravure) Alfred Stieglitz, American, 1864 - 1946 Photogravure * Prints, Drawings, and Photographs Special Exhibition Gallery, ground floor (Berman Gallery) 1949-18-50 The Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949 |
LabelThe Steerage has for decades been considered a photographic masterpiece. Looking at a few choice elements a straw hat gleaming in the sun, a ship's funnel, a gangway, a pair of white suspenders Alfred Stieglitz intuited a pattern that seemed formally and existentially sublime: "I saw a picture of shapes and underlying that the feeling I had about life." This is an exemplary explanation of photography as the art of reality transformed a view turned into a vision. The result is compelling, not because it explains reality but because it indicates real ambiguity. Is this a "picture of shapes" in which humans merely fill in a composition whose most prominent elements are a gangway and a funnel? Or is it, on the contrary, a sympathetic record of travel conditions in steerage class, whose cramped quarters seem especially unbreathable in a composition that has practically no empty space? Perhaps most importantly, is the long passage overseas just beginning, or is it drawing to a close? To judge by the image, there is no way to know.Social Tags [?]nhd 1900 to 1929 photo culture [x] nhd 1900 to 1929 photo transportation [x] [Add Your Own Tags]* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit. |
