Equivalent c. 1926

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, titled Equivalent, and though undated, it's part of a series that explores the emotional and spiritual depths of the world through the depiction of clouds. Imagine Stieglitz, gazing up, framing a section of the sky. What’s he feeling? Melancholy? Hope? A yearning for something beyond the material world? I bet it’s all those things! The tones are soft, almost velvety, with subtle gradations of light and shadow that create a sense of depth and atmosphere. You can almost feel the breeze shifting the clouds overhead. The composition is simple yet powerful. The lines of the clouds stretch and swirl, creating a sense of movement and energy. It reminds me a little of some of Turner’s atmospheric seascapes, or even some of the early abstract paintings. This work is connected to a history of artists seeking to capture the sublime in nature. Artists are always looking, always responding to what they see and feel, and then trying to find a way to translate that into something tangible, something that can be shared with others. And in that sharing, there's a real conversation that can happen, a way to connect across time and space.