Bronx 1
Artist
Aaron Siskind
(American, 1903 - 1991)
CultureAmerican
Date1950
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 11/16 × 13 7/16 in. (22.1 × 34.1 cm)
Overall, Paper: 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Overall, Paper: 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
InscribedSigned and titled.
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Menschel
Object number78.576E
On View
Not on viewLabel TextAaron Siskind American (1903-1991) Bronx 1, 1950 Gelatin-silver print Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Menschel 78.576e ~ Although his planar, abstract work from the late 1940s on is recognized as some of the strongest twentieth-century American photographic art, Siskind began his photographic career under the auspices of New York City's Photo League (1936-1951), a group of photographers whose collective mission was the advancement of socially engaged documentary work. Siskind's 1941 departure from the League symbolized a decisive shift in his work (and in mid-century American photography in general) away from the primacy of subject matter per se toward the dominance of individual vision. Siskind has had great influence as a teacher, both at the Chicago Institute of Design and the Rhode Island School of Design. In the exhibition catalog, Aaron Siskind: Photographer, 1965, Siskind states: When I make a photograph I want it to be an altogether new object, complete and self-contained, whose basic condition is order - (unlike the world of events and actions whose permanent condition is change and disorder). The business of making a photography may be said in simple terms to consist of three elements: the objective world (whose permanent condition is change and disorder), the sheet of paper on which the picture will be realized, and the experience which brings them together. First, and emphatically, I accept the flat plane of the picture surface as the primary frame of referenceof the picture. The experience itself may be described as one of total absorption in the object. But the object serves only a personal need and the requirements of the picture. Thus, rocks are sculptured forms; a section of common decorative iron- work, springing rhythmic shapes; fragments of paper sticking to a wall, a conversation piece. And these forms, totems, masks, figures, shapes, images must finally take their place in the tonal field of the picture and strictly conform to their space environment. The object has entered the picture, in a sense; it has been photo- graphed directly. But it is often unrecognizable; for it has been removed from its usual context, disassociated from its customary neighbors and forced into new relationships. Exhibition History"Photographs from the Chrysler Museum," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., Feb. 26 - April 23, 1989.
Aaron Siskind
