Songs of the Sky 1924

This is Alfred Stieglitz’s "Songs of the Sky", a photograph. Looking at the clouds, I’m reminded of the way some painters approach a canvas, building up layers of marks, responding to each one as they go. It’s a process of discovery. In this print, the texture is incredible, those fluffy clouds seem almost tactile. The contrast between the dark, solid hill and the ever-shifting sky is striking. See how the light catches the edges of the clouds? There is a real push and pull between the ethereal and the grounded. Stieglitz, like many artists, was interested in capturing fleeting moments, but also in exploring the very essence of a subject. Think of Gerhard Richter’s cloud paintings, where the act of painting becomes a meditation on impermanence. Art is like that, a conversation across time, always asking questions, never giving definitive answers.