Terrors and Pleasures of Levitation #58 by Aaron Siskind

Terrors and Pleasures of Levitation #58 1965

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photography, gelatin-silver-print

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action-painting

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abstract-expressionism

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form

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photography

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gelatin-silver-print

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abstraction

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nude

Dimensions: sheet: 35.4 x 27.6 cm (13 15/16 x 10 7/8 in.)

Copyright: National Gallery of Art: CC0 1.0

Curator: Before us we have Aaron Siskind’s gelatin-silver print, “Terrors and Pleasures of Levitation #58,” created in 1965. Editor: Immediately striking. The stark contrast creates a sense of dramatic tension. The solitary figure is dark and almost silhouetted against a blank field—it gives the sense of defiance. Curator: Precisely. Siskind was deeply engaged with Abstract Expressionism. The figure is divorced from a specific narrative context, which allows viewers to project their own experiences and interpretations onto it. Editor: Given the title, what about considering themes of liberation, perhaps in relation to Black identity in the '60s, during the civil rights movement? Siskind avoids any environmental signifiers that might define or restrict the reading. Curator: The body almost reads as pure form, stripped of superfluous detail. Observe the dynamic positioning of the limbs, their sharp angles…The tension held is palpable, yet open to our reading. The placement in space implies dynamism—rising or falling; which would you say it is? Editor: Perhaps it depends on who’s looking. This work came during Siskind’s Harlem Document years; I wonder what the presence of a Black male figure does, or doesn't, imply about identity politics within American photography and art history at the time. He’s isolated, yes, but on the verge of some kinetic possibility—definitely not restricted, certainly not confined. Curator: To consider it as form alone diminishes, not ignores. Yet to place every gesture within a singular sociopolitical frame is equally limiting. To read “levitation” purely metaphorically overlooks how its composition transcends mere representation. It transforms into an exercise of abstraction. Editor: I see your point. The convergence, then, might reside in understanding Siskind’s image as part of a collective drive to articulate new forms of experience through photography while challenging traditional visual conventions along lines of race and representation. Curator: It presents an invitation to examine abstraction while addressing tangible existential concerns… A beautiful contradiction in resolution, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Beautifully stated. And a perfect summation of the artistic and activist qualities present in this captivating image.

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