Trey Hock, Assistant Professor of Animation at Kansas City Art Institute
Born in 1864, Alfred Stieglitz was just twenty-five years younger than the medium of photography itself. As a young man, Stieglitz was driven by a love of theater, music, as well as the visual arts. It wasn’t until his late teens that he came across a camera that was smaller and far more portable than many previous cameras that his passion for photography was kindled.
Stieglitz was a stalwart proponent for photography to take its place amongst the other respected art forms. Not only was he showing in galleries and competing in and winning competitions, but his contributions as editor of the publication, Camera Work, lead the way in showing some of the premiere photographers of the time as well as promoting the artform in general.
Most of Stieglitz’s early work falls in the category of pictorialism, which seeks to convey a feeling or idea through the photograph that goes beyond the documentation of the subject. Stieglitz would often photograph subjects that were commonplace or mundane. These could include parks, buildings, and people throughout New York. He would then use rich shadows, ethereal highlights and a soft focus, to create an image that slowed the viewer, and allowed them to see again anew, and question what thoughts were behind the image.
At his gallery, 291, Stieglitz showed a variety of two-dimensional works, including drawings, paintings, and photography. This is how he first met Georgia O’Keefe. She gave him some of her charcoal drawings, and they began a letter writing exchange in 1915. This would grow and developed into a love affair in 1918 and ultimately a marriage between the two artists.
Their relationship emerged out of a mutual respect, and O’Keefe would remark on the power of Stieglitz’s photographs. It is with this in mind that I would encourage you to look at the photographs that Stieglitz took of O’Keefe, less as documentation of an artist and more as artworks of Stieglitz. Try and ponder the ideas and feelings that he was attempting to convey, beyond simply capturing the likeness of an individual.
There is a particular image that can act as bridge to this way of seeing Stieglitz’s photographs. It is Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918. The thirty-one-year-old O’Keefe is seen low in the frame, her arms twisted and held above her head, mimicking the movement in the artwork above her. This photograph was taken in the earliest days of their love affair and is clearly an attempt to show O’Keefe as a lover, an artist, an equal. Stieglitz was attempting to create a photograph that conveyed his feelings in the moment. As you listen to the music [of The Brightness of Light], and look at the art works, allow yourself to also feel as Stieglitz might, manipulated willingly by his powerful photography.
About the author:
Trey Hock explores the markers of narrative through short film, screenwriting, installation, photography, performance and web-based social media platforms. His work interrogates the assumed physical and social constructions that surround us. These include narrative storytelling, the photographic frame, public and private spaces, and personal identity. His short films have shown at Sundance and other international film festivals. He is currently working across platform through Instagram, printed photographic works, and installation to explore the power of the Selfie. Hock received his B.A. in English, Creative Writing from Kansas State University in 1997, and his M.F.A. in Writing and Directing for Film and Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2007.
