Grasses 1933

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph using a camera, photographic paper, and darkroom chemistry. The effect is a study in texture. The image is made up of organic material: grass, of course, but also the gelatin silver emulsion, derived from animal collagen, which captures the light reflected from the scene. To make the photograph, Stieglitz would have used a large format camera, and the final print has a luminous tonal range, with varying densities of silver particles giving the image its form. This labor-intensive darkroom work was itself a craft, performed by hand with meticulous attention to detail. Stieglitz believed that photography could be a fine art, and here he takes as his subject something easily overlooked, and elevates it. In focusing on the material qualities of both subject and process, Stieglitz encourages us to see photography as more than just mechanical reproduction; it is a medium for artistic expression, intimately connected to the natural world and human skill.