From My Window at the Shelton, North 1930 - 1931

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, "From My Window at the Shelton, North" with a camera and film, fixing a specific point of view. The silvery grays, achieved through darkroom processes, give a tactile quality to the image, making the building almost sculptural. I’m drawn to the dynamic angle—a tilted view of the skyscraper. It's like Stieglitz is wrestling with the sheer scale and modernity of the building, not quite able to capture it straight-on. The unfinished top, with its skeletal framework, contrasts beautifully with the solid, finished floors below, which creates a tension. This image reminds me a bit of some of Charles Sheeler's architectural photographs, particularly in the way both artists find a kind of abstract beauty in industrial subjects. Yet, Stieglitz brings an emotionality and intimacy that feels unique. Art doesn't offer simple answers, but it invites us to keep looking and thinking.