Alfred Stieglitz and Minor White

Paper Summary:

This paper presents a comparative study of Stieglitz and White?s work, focusing on photographs that were taken from the 1860s to the 1940s. The author points out that, in terms of technique, Stieglitz had much in common with the Impressionists because he believed that, in addition to recording images, photographs also could be seen as very expressive works of art, conveying emotions such as joy or melancholy, which is called the principle of ?equivalent.? The paper relates that the idea of equivalence had a strong impact on younger photographers such as Minor White, who also considered photography to be akin to a mirror.

From the Paper:

"Like Stieglitz, White also took pains to imbue expression in his photographs. In ?Front Street, Portland, Oregon, 1939,? White depicts a row of Victorian buildings flanking a street that curves off into the distance. The natural sun brings the elaborate facades of the buildings on the left side of the street in clear detail, a sharp contrast to the empty street. The long shadows cast by the buildings on the empty streets further emphasize the lack of humans and the picture's sense of melancholy."

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