The Barn 1922

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, 'The Barn', using gelatin silver print. Look at the way the light falls across the wooden planks, the fence, and the leaves of the tree – it’s all about texture, right? You can almost feel the rough grain of the wood under your fingertips. What I find really interesting is how Stieglitz uses light and shadow to create depth. See the way the tree trunk fades into the darkness behind the fence? It's like he's playing with our perception, blurring the lines between what's solid and what's not. And the tonality of the print, almost sepia, gives it this timeless quality, like it could be from any era. Thinking about other photographers who were playing with light and texture around the same time, I'm reminded of Paul Strand, another member of Stieglitz's circle. Both of them were pushing the boundaries of photography, exploring its potential as a fine art form. I think what both these photographers, and other modernists understood, is that art is never really finished. It's always in process.