Equivalent 1931

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, Equivalents, with a camera, and you know, in some ways that’s all you need to know. The tones slide between dark and light in this gelatin silver print, giving the sense of constant change and transformation, which in some ways is what photography is all about. The image hovers on the brink of abstraction. The dark swoosh on the right pulls the eye upward like a forceful stroke of paint, a physical gesture rendered in light and shadow. The softness of the clouds is almost palpable; the texture implies a feeling like wool or something. And like a painter, Stieglitz isn’t just representing something, he’s also showing us how to see. The clouds become more than just clouds. They become equivalents, maybe to feelings, thoughts, or just the sheer joy of looking. Like Georgia O’Keeffe, another American artist who looked closely at natural forms, Stieglitz made a career out of finding the extraordinary in the everyday. For both artists, ambiguity and suggestion are at the heart of the artistic experience.