Pleasures and Terrors of Levitation #51 1957

Aaron Siskind’s 1957 gelatin silver print, *Pleasures and Terrors of Levitation #51*, portrays a diver in mid-air, captured against a stark white background. The photograph highlights the abstract, almost sculptural qualities of the human form in motion, with a focus on the tension and grace of the diver's pose. Siskind's masterful use of light and shadow creates a striking image that evokes both the exhilaration and danger of levitation. This work is a powerful example of Siskind’s interest in the human figure as a subject of both beauty and psychological depth, a hallmark of his later career.