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Aaron Siskind




 1903 - 1991
•	 He was born to immigrant Russian Jews on Dec. 4, 1903 - 5th out of six children, and lived half his life in New
   York. As a child was always on the street, exploring. At thirteen, he used to listen to people talk about politics,
   then give public speeches about peace and on anti-war.

•	 While studying social science at City College of New York, he joined a literary group whose members included
   Adolph Gottlieb and Barnett Newman, who would both become painters and would play key roles in Siskind’s
   development	as	an	artist.	Soon	after	he	graduated	in	1926,	he	began	teaching	English	to	fifth-to-ninth-graders	
   in	the	New	York	public	school	system.	In	1929	he	Married	Sidonie	(Sonia)	Glatter	(annulled	1945).

•	 His	first	loves	were	music	and	poetry,	but	he	took	an	interest	in	photography	in	1930	(when	he	received	his	
   first	camera	as	a	going-away	present	before	his	honeymoon	trip	to	Bermuda).	This	was	a	quote	from	Siskind:
     I was given a small camera as a wedding gift from a very dear friend. My first pictures were taken on
     my honeymoon. As soon as I became familiar with the camera, I was intrigued with the possibilities of
     expression it offered. It was like a discovery for me.

•	 He began his photography career as a documentary photographer in the New York Photo League in 1932. From
   1936 to 1940 he oversaw the League’s Feature Group as they created documentary photo-essays of political
   import including Harlem Document, Dead End: The Bowery, Portrait of a Tenement, and St. Joseph’s House:
   The Catholic Worker Movement The group was a place to meet other photographers and learn techniques.
   Frustrated with the group’s strict politics, Siskind quit in 1935, but rejoined the following year to become head
   of group. But Siskind slowly edged away from strict documentary.

•	 HENRY HORENSTEIN, Professor, Rhode Island School Of Design, said this about Siskind:

     Aaron was warm, smart, articulate, funny, and opinionated. It was obvious that he loved teaching and
     he loved his students, treating us much like his own children. However, I already had a father with a lot
     of opinions about what I should and shouldn’t do, which made Aaron’s style of teaching difficult for me.
     I am sorry I couldn’t get closer to him as a lot of his other students did. When I began teaching at RISD
     in the early 1980s, Aaron invited me to bring my class to his home in Pawtucket, RI. There, he would
     regale us with his stories and wisdom. It was at these very special classes that I really got to appreciate
     Aaron’s great generosity and spirit.
Harlem
   1937
Harlem
1937
1940
St. Josephs House
Seaweed
                                                                          1953/1970s




•	 In the early 40’s, however, Mr. Siskind’s work grew increasingly spare and abstract, and by 1950
   he had completely departed from his earlier documentary style.
•	 Siskind’s work gradually shifted from a social documentary approach to a more abstract and
   personal style.
• “For the first time in my life subject matter, as such, had ceased to be of primary importance,”
  Siskind explained. “Instead I found myself involved in the relationships of these objects, so
  much so that the pictures turned out to be deeply moving and personal experiences.”
Two Small Barn Doors                Date?

He was an Abstract Expressionist, but instead of using a paintbrush he used a camera. Franz Kline
was	a	close	friend.	Wilhelm	De	Kooning	cites	Siskind	as	a	significant	influence.	Like	Ansel	Adams	Sis-
kind’s photographs are very precise. Unlike Adams, Siskind seemed to be more concerned with the
concept of pure space rather than any individual subject.
• The tendency to separate
                                           Siskind’s abstract work from his
                                           straightforward documentary work
                                           is understandable -- we achieve
                                           clarity through categories. But
                                           the two periods, or styles, are
                                           really the same: Siskind was always
                                           gripped by the enduring concerns
                                           of landscape and figure even as
                                           he chose to see this wide, strange
                                           world of ours through the smaller,
                                           detailed lens of abstraction.
                                           (Charles	A.	Hartman	Fine	Art,	134	
                                           N.W.	Eighth	Ave.,	503-287-3886)

                                         •	 Critic Eby Lloyd called him “the
                                            father of modern photography.
                                            His work, more than that of any
                                            single photographer, has freed
                                            photography from its concerns
                                            with simple representation,
                                            documentation, or portraiture,
                                            and has taken it to the realm of
                                            poetic signification. In Siskind’s
                                            hands, photography attained its
                                            potential as a full abstract and
                                            expressionist art.”


Untitled (Hand and broken glass) 1940s
•	 The best photos are like Gloucester
   3 and Jerome 20 where your eyes
   just wander across and explore this
   beautiful surface.

•	 By exploring the surfaces of the things
   that Siskind found tearing away from
   walls or from detritus in the street
   is important because he found a
   language that paralleled the line of
   thought that was being developed by
   the Abstract Expressionist painters:
   Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning,
   and Franz Kline.




                     Jerome 20        1949
                Gelatin silver print, 1957
Jalapa 66, from Homage to Frantz Kline
Chicago 27   1960
Pleasures & Terrors
of Levitation
(series	1953-1961)
Rome   1963
Mexico 32   1982




                   Bahia 170   1984
The Road
(series	-	early	1990s)
Siskind in his darkroom in Providence, RI
If you look
                                        very intensely
                                        and slowly,
                                        things will
                                        happen that
The Photographer: Aaron Siskind, 2004
Richard Merkin                          you never
                                        dreamed of
                                        before.

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Aaron Siskind Presentation

  • 2. • He was born to immigrant Russian Jews on Dec. 4, 1903 - 5th out of six children, and lived half his life in New York. As a child was always on the street, exploring. At thirteen, he used to listen to people talk about politics, then give public speeches about peace and on anti-war. • While studying social science at City College of New York, he joined a literary group whose members included Adolph Gottlieb and Barnett Newman, who would both become painters and would play key roles in Siskind’s development as an artist. Soon after he graduated in 1926, he began teaching English to fifth-to-ninth-graders in the New York public school system. In 1929 he Married Sidonie (Sonia) Glatter (annulled 1945). • His first loves were music and poetry, but he took an interest in photography in 1930 (when he received his first camera as a going-away present before his honeymoon trip to Bermuda). This was a quote from Siskind: I was given a small camera as a wedding gift from a very dear friend. My first pictures were taken on my honeymoon. As soon as I became familiar with the camera, I was intrigued with the possibilities of expression it offered. It was like a discovery for me. • He began his photography career as a documentary photographer in the New York Photo League in 1932. From 1936 to 1940 he oversaw the League’s Feature Group as they created documentary photo-essays of political import including Harlem Document, Dead End: The Bowery, Portrait of a Tenement, and St. Joseph’s House: The Catholic Worker Movement The group was a place to meet other photographers and learn techniques. Frustrated with the group’s strict politics, Siskind quit in 1935, but rejoined the following year to become head of group. But Siskind slowly edged away from strict documentary. • HENRY HORENSTEIN, Professor, Rhode Island School Of Design, said this about Siskind: Aaron was warm, smart, articulate, funny, and opinionated. It was obvious that he loved teaching and he loved his students, treating us much like his own children. However, I already had a father with a lot of opinions about what I should and shouldn’t do, which made Aaron’s style of teaching difficult for me. I am sorry I couldn’t get closer to him as a lot of his other students did. When I began teaching at RISD in the early 1980s, Aaron invited me to bring my class to his home in Pawtucket, RI. There, he would regale us with his stories and wisdom. It was at these very special classes that I really got to appreciate Aaron’s great generosity and spirit.
  • 3. Harlem 1937
  • 7. Seaweed 1953/1970s • In the early 40’s, however, Mr. Siskind’s work grew increasingly spare and abstract, and by 1950 he had completely departed from his earlier documentary style. • Siskind’s work gradually shifted from a social documentary approach to a more abstract and personal style. • “For the first time in my life subject matter, as such, had ceased to be of primary importance,” Siskind explained. “Instead I found myself involved in the relationships of these objects, so much so that the pictures turned out to be deeply moving and personal experiences.”
  • 8. Two Small Barn Doors Date? He was an Abstract Expressionist, but instead of using a paintbrush he used a camera. Franz Kline was a close friend. Wilhelm De Kooning cites Siskind as a significant influence. Like Ansel Adams Sis- kind’s photographs are very precise. Unlike Adams, Siskind seemed to be more concerned with the concept of pure space rather than any individual subject.
  • 9. • The tendency to separate Siskind’s abstract work from his straightforward documentary work is understandable -- we achieve clarity through categories. But the two periods, or styles, are really the same: Siskind was always gripped by the enduring concerns of landscape and figure even as he chose to see this wide, strange world of ours through the smaller, detailed lens of abstraction. (Charles A. Hartman Fine Art, 134 N.W. Eighth Ave., 503-287-3886) • Critic Eby Lloyd called him “the father of modern photography. His work, more than that of any single photographer, has freed photography from its concerns with simple representation, documentation, or portraiture, and has taken it to the realm of poetic signification. In Siskind’s hands, photography attained its potential as a full abstract and expressionist art.” Untitled (Hand and broken glass) 1940s
  • 10. • The best photos are like Gloucester 3 and Jerome 20 where your eyes just wander across and explore this beautiful surface. • By exploring the surfaces of the things that Siskind found tearing away from walls or from detritus in the street is important because he found a language that paralleled the line of thought that was being developed by the Abstract Expressionist painters: Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, and Franz Kline. Jerome 20 1949 Gelatin silver print, 1957
  • 11. Jalapa 66, from Homage to Frantz Kline
  • 12. Chicago 27 1960
  • 13. Pleasures & Terrors of Levitation (series 1953-1961)
  • 14. Rome 1963
  • 15. Mexico 32 1982 Bahia 170 1984
  • 17. Siskind in his darkroom in Providence, RI
  • 18. If you look very intensely and slowly, things will happen that The Photographer: Aaron Siskind, 2004 Richard Merkin you never dreamed of before.