Songs of the Sky M1 1923

Alfred Stieglitz created the photograph, Songs of the Sky M1, using gelatin silver print. Stieglitz, a key figure in promoting photography as fine art, captured this image during a period of significant social and artistic change. The image departs from traditional, representational photography. During a time when artistic photography often emulated painting, Stieglitz sought to explore photography’s unique capabilities. His series of cloud photographs, known as "Equivalents", aimed to express inner emotions through external forms, which reflected a broader shift towards abstraction. Stieglitz said that through clouds he wanted "to learn what photography looks like." The image represents a move towards a more subjective and emotionally driven form of expression, moving photography away from simply documenting reality and towards a medium capable of expressing complex inner states. It captures a moment of fleeting beauty, connecting the personal and the universal.