Equivalent O8 1929

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, Equivalent O8, of clouds in the United States, sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. Looking at this image, we might consider Stieglitz's place within the Photo-Secession movement, an early 20th century movement that promoted photography as a fine art. It’s hard to imagine now, but photography had to fight for its place in the museum. Stieglitz's choice to photograph clouds—an everyday, natural phenomenon—was a conscious turn away from traditional subject matter, in favour of abstraction. Stieglitz gave these photographs the title, "Equivalents," because he felt they expressed his own internal states and emotions. He was interested in photography's ability to express something of the artist's inner life, rather than the outer world. Understanding the history of photography and modern art institutions in the United States helps us interpret Stieglitz's goals. His work reflects the changing status of photography and art's expanding vocabulary.