Songs of the Sky or Equivalent 1923 - 1929

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, ‘Songs of the Sky’, using gelatin silver print. Photography, emerging in the industrial era, was initially seen as a craft, separate from fine art. But Stieglitz, and others, fought to have it recognized as an art form on par with painting or sculpture. What is the relationship between the finished object and the ways of making? Here, the gelatin silver print process gives the image its distinctive tonal range, from deep blacks to luminous grays. The texture is smooth, almost ethereal, lending itself well to capturing the fleeting forms of clouds. What’s interesting here is that Stieglitz presented these photographs as equivalents to musical compositions, hence the title. He engaged with traditions of creative practice and aesthetics, not just of fine arts, but music as well. In doing so, he elevated photography from mere reproduction to a medium of artistic expression. By focusing on the materials, the processes, and the artistic context, we get a richer understanding of how photography became an accepted art form.