Alfred Stieglitz AND Modernism Essay Sample

The Stieglitz’s contribution to the art of photography is undoubtable. Basically, he was one of the first who began to advocate the photography as an art form. The process of photography was invented in the first decades of the 19th century. The technical system was developing and improving but the picture taken by a photograph was not considered as a piece of art. Rather, it was helpful for creation the further paintings because it allowed to freeze the moment. There was no need to try remembering all the details. For example, it is a well-known fact that famous impressionist Edgar Degas the pictures of nudes and dancers he was taken as references for his paintings.
Furthermore, the power of photography was widely used in commercials. The advertising reached a new level of persuasiveness with the help of pictures. Yet hardly anyone was thinking of the photography as an art. It was widely believed that the picture can only depict the life as it is. Stieglitz could not agree with that. He was born in the United States, yet he found his inspiration in Europe, where artists started to use the photos in their art experiments. Stieglitz returned to the America being confident in his art views. He promoted the photography as an art and claimed that among thousands of prints there is one, which “is something born out of spirit” (Lori). The spirit of such photos cannot be seen at other photos. It is intangible. It is something that makes a piece of paper an art. The same applies to the photography.
Alfred Stieglitz managed not only to promote the photography as an art, he succeeded in demonstrating the modernistic nature of photography. His fist artwork, which is considered to be taken in the modern technique, is titled The Steerage (The Steerage). It was made in 1907. The picture was published together with Picasso’s Cubist drawings. Stieglitz knew the painter and liked his worldview as well as his works. The author’s style is greatly influenced by the Picasso’s works. Previous Stieglitz’s photos were rather symbolic. He used natural components such as snow and rain to create an ephemeral perception of the world in his photo. This connected him to Impressionists (ArtStory.Org).
Later, he promoted the understanding, that neither paintings nor the pictures are limited with the nature, love, and other notions perceived by the individuals. The photo can be a masterpiece, when it demonstrates the soul of an object or a person. The Steerage is the Stieglitz’s first and one of the most modernist pictures. Here the artist mover forward from the symbolism and richness of his pictures to the more direct depicting of the everyday life. The photo itself shows how workers and travelers are entering a crowded steamer from New York to Germany. Someone was just visiting relatives, but many of the passengers were looking for the famous American dream and did not find it in the United States. They are forced to come back to Europe (ArtStory.Org). An interest in the working class is clearly shown in this picture.
Despite it is just a photo, the artists managed to express his light sympathy to the passengers. It seems that a photographer is not only a viewer but also a participator. The photo is considered to be modern because of the interest in industrial scenes and working moments. Besides, the picture itself is more important than the line or form. It expresses the feelings of any passenger or any other person seen on the picture. The conventional subject of a photo is changed into collage and partial demonstration of different spaces and times. The angle of the photography helps to provide a deeper insight into the understanding of the social life and destiny of depicted individuals. This involvement into the social aspect of existence makes this picture a real modernistic masterpiece. Besides, it shows a steamer, a real achievement of the inventor’s mind. The industrial motif only supports the modernistic direction of the picture.
The article titled Rush Outward Keeps Up was published in the New Times in 1908, a year after The Steerage was taken. The article demonstrates the tendency caught by Stieglitz in his picture. More and more people “sailed from ports in the United States for various countries of Europe” (New York Times). The author of the article also claims that the amount of arrivals is decreased whereas the number of leaving passengers increased by 134 percent in comparison with the previous year. The true genius of Stieglitz not only did a perfect picture showing different spaces and strata. He succeeded in catching a socio-economic tendency of the further years in the United States. This is the characteristic of a true masterpiece and acknowledgement of the artist.
Alfred Stieglitz contributed a lot into the development of the modernism. He promoted the photograph as a new kind of art. Besides, he supported the artists and described the theory of modern photography in his books and essays. His dedication to the profession is undoubtable and deserves much respect. His works are considered to be masterpieces of the modern arts. He managed to express the feelings through industrial motifs. Nature and human progress are both demonstrated in his photos.

Work Cited

"Alfred Stieglitz." TheArtStory.Org. 2014. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://www.theartstory.org/artist-stieglitz-alfred.htm>.
"The Steerage" (1907). Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/33.43.419.
Oden, Lori . "Alfred Stieglitz." International Photograpy Hall of Fame and Museum. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://www.iphf.org/hall-of-fame/alfred-stieglitz/>.
"Rush Outward Keeps Up." The New York Times 1907.