Equivalent c. 1929

Editor: We're looking at Alfred Stieglitz’s “Equivalent,” a photograph from around 1929. It's a black and white image of clouds, incredibly textural and almost tactile. What strikes me is how a scene so ordinary becomes so powerful in this high-contrast rendering. What's your perspective? Curator: The power lies precisely in how Stieglitz elevates the mundane. He harnesses photography, a medium often relegated to mere reproduction, and transforms it into something...more. Consider the social context: mass production was exploding. He's not just showing clouds, but reclaiming artistic value through the hand, through the very specific choices of camera, lens, and darkroom manipulation. What do you think of the process? Editor: It's interesting you bring up the labor involved. Looking at the textures, you can imagine him meticulously working in the darkroom to bring out the tonal range. Do you see this as a challenge to traditional painting? Curator: Absolutely. By focusing on the tangible aspects of photographic production – the chemical processes, the manipulation of light and shadow – Stieglitz democratizes art-making. It’s less about innate talent and more about the skillful handling of materials and the application of labor, a deliberate rejection of art as an untouchable commodity made by the divine hand. He suggests something ordinary like a cloud formation can reflect an individual’s emotional or spiritual state, which, interestingly, became quite a commodity later on. Editor: So it is about the process and materiality as a means of expressing something deeply personal. It certainly reshapes my understanding of photography. Curator: Exactly! It challenges the accepted hierarchy of art, pointing to the artistic potential embedded within everyday practices and materials. I never thought about it that way until now!