Why is “The steerage” hailed “one of the greatest photographs of all time”?












5















From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage:




The Steerage is a photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz in 1907. It has been hailed as one of the greatest photographs of all time because it captures in a single image both a formative document of its time and one of the first works of artistic modernism.



The Steerage




I just don't get it. It is a document for sure, but why is it so important? I don't have art background so I'm not sure what "artistic modernism" even is ("artistic modernism" image search yields pictures that are very different in style).



I can see how it's a reasonably good photograph, but I have no clue why do people say it's "one of the greatest photographs of all time". I also feel the same when seeing photographs in art galleries. What's the deal? What am I missing?










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    5















    From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage:




    The Steerage is a photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz in 1907. It has been hailed as one of the greatest photographs of all time because it captures in a single image both a formative document of its time and one of the first works of artistic modernism.



    The Steerage




    I just don't get it. It is a document for sure, but why is it so important? I don't have art background so I'm not sure what "artistic modernism" even is ("artistic modernism" image search yields pictures that are very different in style).



    I can see how it's a reasonably good photograph, but I have no clue why do people say it's "one of the greatest photographs of all time". I also feel the same when seeing photographs in art galleries. What's the deal? What am I missing?










    share|improve this question







    New contributor




    mik01aj is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.























      5












      5








      5








      From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage:




      The Steerage is a photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz in 1907. It has been hailed as one of the greatest photographs of all time because it captures in a single image both a formative document of its time and one of the first works of artistic modernism.



      The Steerage




      I just don't get it. It is a document for sure, but why is it so important? I don't have art background so I'm not sure what "artistic modernism" even is ("artistic modernism" image search yields pictures that are very different in style).



      I can see how it's a reasonably good photograph, but I have no clue why do people say it's "one of the greatest photographs of all time". I also feel the same when seeing photographs in art galleries. What's the deal? What am I missing?










      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      mik01aj is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.












      From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage:




      The Steerage is a photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz in 1907. It has been hailed as one of the greatest photographs of all time because it captures in a single image both a formative document of its time and one of the first works of artistic modernism.



      The Steerage




      I just don't get it. It is a document for sure, but why is it so important? I don't have art background so I'm not sure what "artistic modernism" even is ("artistic modernism" image search yields pictures that are very different in style).



      I can see how it's a reasonably good photograph, but I have no clue why do people say it's "one of the greatest photographs of all time". I also feel the same when seeing photographs in art galleries. What's the deal? What am I missing?







      history art






      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      mik01aj is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      share|improve this question







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      mik01aj is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      share|improve this question




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      mik01ajmik01aj

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      New contributor





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          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          2














          To me, it this picture is a masterpiece because its author basically invented the concept of "telling a story with a photo", while working with a fairly new technology. As (relatively) inexpensive camera were only emerging, (The brownie got out in 1900, and the 35mm film was introduced in 1905), taking this image in 1907 is like creating a great vlog (good production, great pacing, etc.) in 2008 (2 years after Google buys Youtube). It's kind of a big deal... even if by 2019 standards, said vlog is only "ok".



          Note : Thanks to BobT for pointing out that the picture itself was taken by a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm. I mentioned 35mm in the previous paragraph to emphasise the very recent emergence of popular photography. 35mm was basically the "mirrorless" in 1907 ;-) Many pros must still have been using plate cameras.



          This question makes me think about the movie Citizen Kane.
          I don't personally like this motion picture, but I can understand how the photography (new angles and patterns), narrative techniques and social commentary are seen as wonders by many experts. Welles INVENTED so many new ways to film and trigger emotions for this movie, that the art itself, moved forward.



          To answer your question, I think this picture, in 1907, advanced the art of photography.
          After this picture, photography was less technical, and a more concrete art-form.



          It seems Stieglitz was an artist that wanted to tell real stories about real people and places... and he liked his medium so much, he, himself became part of the history of photography.



          Also, I found this on modernism... thanks for making me check seek it out.






          share|improve this answer





















          • 1





            The picture was taken with a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm.

            – BobT
            2 hours ago











          • Thanks ! I adjusted the text.

            – GhislainCote
            16 mins ago



















          1














          Answer is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage



          Roughly, a great metaphor, the rich at the top in the fresh air, the poor below, in the darkness.






          share|improve this answer





















          • 3





            Could you please expand your answer a bit?

            – Philip Kendall
            5 hours ago











          • Everyone in the image is in "steerage". The first class sections of the ship were behind Stieglitz when he captured the frame.

            – Michael C
            49 mins ago



















          1














          Stieglitz and his photo, "The Steerage" are hailed as great not because of its compositional excellence (at least one aspect of the composition is brilliant, and some of the lines in the frame can be seen as a kind of "proto-Cubism) or the technical merits of the photo. "The Steerage" is most significant because it was one of the first times a photograph was used to say something about human society with artistic intent while also presenting the scene as realistically as possible instead of either a) merely documenting it largely without comment or artistic intent or b) modifying it significantly to shape a possible message or artistic intent.



          The way Stieglitz captured the photo was starkly different from the way those recognized by the art community as the highest practitioners of photography at that time were doing things. Those few photographers who "had something to say" in 1907 typically used the pictorialist style that used various methods to alter the realism of the scene to fit their message. Stieglitz himself was a pictorialist at the time, and only published The Steerage in 1911 over four years after taking the photo as he began moving away from pictorialism.



          Rather than attempting to sugar coat things and make them look as romantically appealing as was the case with pictorialism, Stieglitz attempted (and succeeded with The Steerage) to show things as realistically as possible. To make an emotional impact, Stieglitz depended on the viewer seeing the contents of the scene as they were and understanding some of the underlying factors that led to the scene appearing the way it did while at the same time recognizing some of the more abstract elements of the scene and their significance.



          The compositional stroke of genius was the way Steiglitz found an angle that placed the empty ans immaculate gangway leading to first class off camera as an apparently impenetrable barrier between those pictured in steerage and those in first class luxury not pictured to the left of and behind the camera. The strong geometric lines of the gangway, the mast, the boom, the deck girder, and the steep staircase to the left serve to confine those in steerage. So although the photo itself was an unaltered view of reality, the elements of that reality and the way Steiglitz managed to place them in the frame had great metaphorical and symbolic significance.



          In art, there are often two different kinds of masterpieces:




          • Those that break new ground and create a way of communicating that has never been done before. These are the "first of their kind" types of masterpieces.

          • Those that build on the former and reach an absolute pinnacle of a particular style that perfects it in such a way that after which there's nowhere higher for anyone else to go.


          It is very rare for the same artist, much less the same work, to do both. Perhaps the best example that comes to mind is Earl Scruggs' 'three finger style' of playing the banjo that never existed before he developed it, and has never been topped by anyone after him.



          Stieglitz's The Steerage is the first type. With it he introduced a new way of using photographs that were starkly realistic yet managed, through their carefully composed realism, to say things in a symbolic and metaphorical way. There are far better examples, in terms of composition and technical prowess, of what Stieglitz started with The Steerage. Some of the works of Weston, Adams, and Lange come to mind. But there are not many, if any, earlier examples.






          share|improve this answer

























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            3 Answers
            3






            active

            oldest

            votes








            3 Answers
            3






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            2














            To me, it this picture is a masterpiece because its author basically invented the concept of "telling a story with a photo", while working with a fairly new technology. As (relatively) inexpensive camera were only emerging, (The brownie got out in 1900, and the 35mm film was introduced in 1905), taking this image in 1907 is like creating a great vlog (good production, great pacing, etc.) in 2008 (2 years after Google buys Youtube). It's kind of a big deal... even if by 2019 standards, said vlog is only "ok".



            Note : Thanks to BobT for pointing out that the picture itself was taken by a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm. I mentioned 35mm in the previous paragraph to emphasise the very recent emergence of popular photography. 35mm was basically the "mirrorless" in 1907 ;-) Many pros must still have been using plate cameras.



            This question makes me think about the movie Citizen Kane.
            I don't personally like this motion picture, but I can understand how the photography (new angles and patterns), narrative techniques and social commentary are seen as wonders by many experts. Welles INVENTED so many new ways to film and trigger emotions for this movie, that the art itself, moved forward.



            To answer your question, I think this picture, in 1907, advanced the art of photography.
            After this picture, photography was less technical, and a more concrete art-form.



            It seems Stieglitz was an artist that wanted to tell real stories about real people and places... and he liked his medium so much, he, himself became part of the history of photography.



            Also, I found this on modernism... thanks for making me check seek it out.






            share|improve this answer





















            • 1





              The picture was taken with a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm.

              – BobT
              2 hours ago











            • Thanks ! I adjusted the text.

              – GhislainCote
              16 mins ago
















            2














            To me, it this picture is a masterpiece because its author basically invented the concept of "telling a story with a photo", while working with a fairly new technology. As (relatively) inexpensive camera were only emerging, (The brownie got out in 1900, and the 35mm film was introduced in 1905), taking this image in 1907 is like creating a great vlog (good production, great pacing, etc.) in 2008 (2 years after Google buys Youtube). It's kind of a big deal... even if by 2019 standards, said vlog is only "ok".



            Note : Thanks to BobT for pointing out that the picture itself was taken by a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm. I mentioned 35mm in the previous paragraph to emphasise the very recent emergence of popular photography. 35mm was basically the "mirrorless" in 1907 ;-) Many pros must still have been using plate cameras.



            This question makes me think about the movie Citizen Kane.
            I don't personally like this motion picture, but I can understand how the photography (new angles and patterns), narrative techniques and social commentary are seen as wonders by many experts. Welles INVENTED so many new ways to film and trigger emotions for this movie, that the art itself, moved forward.



            To answer your question, I think this picture, in 1907, advanced the art of photography.
            After this picture, photography was less technical, and a more concrete art-form.



            It seems Stieglitz was an artist that wanted to tell real stories about real people and places... and he liked his medium so much, he, himself became part of the history of photography.



            Also, I found this on modernism... thanks for making me check seek it out.






            share|improve this answer





















            • 1





              The picture was taken with a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm.

              – BobT
              2 hours ago











            • Thanks ! I adjusted the text.

              – GhislainCote
              16 mins ago














            2












            2








            2







            To me, it this picture is a masterpiece because its author basically invented the concept of "telling a story with a photo", while working with a fairly new technology. As (relatively) inexpensive camera were only emerging, (The brownie got out in 1900, and the 35mm film was introduced in 1905), taking this image in 1907 is like creating a great vlog (good production, great pacing, etc.) in 2008 (2 years after Google buys Youtube). It's kind of a big deal... even if by 2019 standards, said vlog is only "ok".



            Note : Thanks to BobT for pointing out that the picture itself was taken by a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm. I mentioned 35mm in the previous paragraph to emphasise the very recent emergence of popular photography. 35mm was basically the "mirrorless" in 1907 ;-) Many pros must still have been using plate cameras.



            This question makes me think about the movie Citizen Kane.
            I don't personally like this motion picture, but I can understand how the photography (new angles and patterns), narrative techniques and social commentary are seen as wonders by many experts. Welles INVENTED so many new ways to film and trigger emotions for this movie, that the art itself, moved forward.



            To answer your question, I think this picture, in 1907, advanced the art of photography.
            After this picture, photography was less technical, and a more concrete art-form.



            It seems Stieglitz was an artist that wanted to tell real stories about real people and places... and he liked his medium so much, he, himself became part of the history of photography.



            Also, I found this on modernism... thanks for making me check seek it out.






            share|improve this answer















            To me, it this picture is a masterpiece because its author basically invented the concept of "telling a story with a photo", while working with a fairly new technology. As (relatively) inexpensive camera were only emerging, (The brownie got out in 1900, and the 35mm film was introduced in 1905), taking this image in 1907 is like creating a great vlog (good production, great pacing, etc.) in 2008 (2 years after Google buys Youtube). It's kind of a big deal... even if by 2019 standards, said vlog is only "ok".



            Note : Thanks to BobT for pointing out that the picture itself was taken by a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm. I mentioned 35mm in the previous paragraph to emphasise the very recent emergence of popular photography. 35mm was basically the "mirrorless" in 1907 ;-) Many pros must still have been using plate cameras.



            This question makes me think about the movie Citizen Kane.
            I don't personally like this motion picture, but I can understand how the photography (new angles and patterns), narrative techniques and social commentary are seen as wonders by many experts. Welles INVENTED so many new ways to film and trigger emotions for this movie, that the art itself, moved forward.



            To answer your question, I think this picture, in 1907, advanced the art of photography.
            After this picture, photography was less technical, and a more concrete art-form.



            It seems Stieglitz was an artist that wanted to tell real stories about real people and places... and he liked his medium so much, he, himself became part of the history of photography.



            Also, I found this on modernism... thanks for making me check seek it out.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited 16 mins ago

























            answered 2 hours ago









            GhislainCoteGhislainCote

            22125




            22125








            • 1





              The picture was taken with a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm.

              – BobT
              2 hours ago











            • Thanks ! I adjusted the text.

              – GhislainCote
              16 mins ago














            • 1





              The picture was taken with a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm.

              – BobT
              2 hours ago











            • Thanks ! I adjusted the text.

              – GhislainCote
              16 mins ago








            1




            1





            The picture was taken with a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm.

            – BobT
            2 hours ago





            The picture was taken with a 4x5 on a glass plate negative, not 35mm.

            – BobT
            2 hours ago













            Thanks ! I adjusted the text.

            – GhislainCote
            16 mins ago





            Thanks ! I adjusted the text.

            – GhislainCote
            16 mins ago













            1














            Answer is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage



            Roughly, a great metaphor, the rich at the top in the fresh air, the poor below, in the darkness.






            share|improve this answer





















            • 3





              Could you please expand your answer a bit?

              – Philip Kendall
              5 hours ago











            • Everyone in the image is in "steerage". The first class sections of the ship were behind Stieglitz when he captured the frame.

              – Michael C
              49 mins ago
















            1














            Answer is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage



            Roughly, a great metaphor, the rich at the top in the fresh air, the poor below, in the darkness.






            share|improve this answer





















            • 3





              Could you please expand your answer a bit?

              – Philip Kendall
              5 hours ago











            • Everyone in the image is in "steerage". The first class sections of the ship were behind Stieglitz when he captured the frame.

              – Michael C
              49 mins ago














            1












            1








            1







            Answer is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage



            Roughly, a great metaphor, the rich at the top in the fresh air, the poor below, in the darkness.






            share|improve this answer















            Answer is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steerage



            Roughly, a great metaphor, the rich at the top in the fresh air, the poor below, in the darkness.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited 2 hours ago









            BobT

            3,757922




            3,757922










            answered 6 hours ago









            xenoidxenoid

            2,674316




            2,674316








            • 3





              Could you please expand your answer a bit?

              – Philip Kendall
              5 hours ago











            • Everyone in the image is in "steerage". The first class sections of the ship were behind Stieglitz when he captured the frame.

              – Michael C
              49 mins ago














            • 3





              Could you please expand your answer a bit?

              – Philip Kendall
              5 hours ago











            • Everyone in the image is in "steerage". The first class sections of the ship were behind Stieglitz when he captured the frame.

              – Michael C
              49 mins ago








            3




            3





            Could you please expand your answer a bit?

            – Philip Kendall
            5 hours ago





            Could you please expand your answer a bit?

            – Philip Kendall
            5 hours ago













            Everyone in the image is in "steerage". The first class sections of the ship were behind Stieglitz when he captured the frame.

            – Michael C
            49 mins ago





            Everyone in the image is in "steerage". The first class sections of the ship were behind Stieglitz when he captured the frame.

            – Michael C
            49 mins ago











            1














            Stieglitz and his photo, "The Steerage" are hailed as great not because of its compositional excellence (at least one aspect of the composition is brilliant, and some of the lines in the frame can be seen as a kind of "proto-Cubism) or the technical merits of the photo. "The Steerage" is most significant because it was one of the first times a photograph was used to say something about human society with artistic intent while also presenting the scene as realistically as possible instead of either a) merely documenting it largely without comment or artistic intent or b) modifying it significantly to shape a possible message or artistic intent.



            The way Stieglitz captured the photo was starkly different from the way those recognized by the art community as the highest practitioners of photography at that time were doing things. Those few photographers who "had something to say" in 1907 typically used the pictorialist style that used various methods to alter the realism of the scene to fit their message. Stieglitz himself was a pictorialist at the time, and only published The Steerage in 1911 over four years after taking the photo as he began moving away from pictorialism.



            Rather than attempting to sugar coat things and make them look as romantically appealing as was the case with pictorialism, Stieglitz attempted (and succeeded with The Steerage) to show things as realistically as possible. To make an emotional impact, Stieglitz depended on the viewer seeing the contents of the scene as they were and understanding some of the underlying factors that led to the scene appearing the way it did while at the same time recognizing some of the more abstract elements of the scene and their significance.



            The compositional stroke of genius was the way Steiglitz found an angle that placed the empty ans immaculate gangway leading to first class off camera as an apparently impenetrable barrier between those pictured in steerage and those in first class luxury not pictured to the left of and behind the camera. The strong geometric lines of the gangway, the mast, the boom, the deck girder, and the steep staircase to the left serve to confine those in steerage. So although the photo itself was an unaltered view of reality, the elements of that reality and the way Steiglitz managed to place them in the frame had great metaphorical and symbolic significance.



            In art, there are often two different kinds of masterpieces:




            • Those that break new ground and create a way of communicating that has never been done before. These are the "first of their kind" types of masterpieces.

            • Those that build on the former and reach an absolute pinnacle of a particular style that perfects it in such a way that after which there's nowhere higher for anyone else to go.


            It is very rare for the same artist, much less the same work, to do both. Perhaps the best example that comes to mind is Earl Scruggs' 'three finger style' of playing the banjo that never existed before he developed it, and has never been topped by anyone after him.



            Stieglitz's The Steerage is the first type. With it he introduced a new way of using photographs that were starkly realistic yet managed, through their carefully composed realism, to say things in a symbolic and metaphorical way. There are far better examples, in terms of composition and technical prowess, of what Stieglitz started with The Steerage. Some of the works of Weston, Adams, and Lange come to mind. But there are not many, if any, earlier examples.






            share|improve this answer






























              1














              Stieglitz and his photo, "The Steerage" are hailed as great not because of its compositional excellence (at least one aspect of the composition is brilliant, and some of the lines in the frame can be seen as a kind of "proto-Cubism) or the technical merits of the photo. "The Steerage" is most significant because it was one of the first times a photograph was used to say something about human society with artistic intent while also presenting the scene as realistically as possible instead of either a) merely documenting it largely without comment or artistic intent or b) modifying it significantly to shape a possible message or artistic intent.



              The way Stieglitz captured the photo was starkly different from the way those recognized by the art community as the highest practitioners of photography at that time were doing things. Those few photographers who "had something to say" in 1907 typically used the pictorialist style that used various methods to alter the realism of the scene to fit their message. Stieglitz himself was a pictorialist at the time, and only published The Steerage in 1911 over four years after taking the photo as he began moving away from pictorialism.



              Rather than attempting to sugar coat things and make them look as romantically appealing as was the case with pictorialism, Stieglitz attempted (and succeeded with The Steerage) to show things as realistically as possible. To make an emotional impact, Stieglitz depended on the viewer seeing the contents of the scene as they were and understanding some of the underlying factors that led to the scene appearing the way it did while at the same time recognizing some of the more abstract elements of the scene and their significance.



              The compositional stroke of genius was the way Steiglitz found an angle that placed the empty ans immaculate gangway leading to first class off camera as an apparently impenetrable barrier between those pictured in steerage and those in first class luxury not pictured to the left of and behind the camera. The strong geometric lines of the gangway, the mast, the boom, the deck girder, and the steep staircase to the left serve to confine those in steerage. So although the photo itself was an unaltered view of reality, the elements of that reality and the way Steiglitz managed to place them in the frame had great metaphorical and symbolic significance.



              In art, there are often two different kinds of masterpieces:




              • Those that break new ground and create a way of communicating that has never been done before. These are the "first of their kind" types of masterpieces.

              • Those that build on the former and reach an absolute pinnacle of a particular style that perfects it in such a way that after which there's nowhere higher for anyone else to go.


              It is very rare for the same artist, much less the same work, to do both. Perhaps the best example that comes to mind is Earl Scruggs' 'three finger style' of playing the banjo that never existed before he developed it, and has never been topped by anyone after him.



              Stieglitz's The Steerage is the first type. With it he introduced a new way of using photographs that were starkly realistic yet managed, through their carefully composed realism, to say things in a symbolic and metaphorical way. There are far better examples, in terms of composition and technical prowess, of what Stieglitz started with The Steerage. Some of the works of Weston, Adams, and Lange come to mind. But there are not many, if any, earlier examples.






              share|improve this answer




























                1












                1








                1







                Stieglitz and his photo, "The Steerage" are hailed as great not because of its compositional excellence (at least one aspect of the composition is brilliant, and some of the lines in the frame can be seen as a kind of "proto-Cubism) or the technical merits of the photo. "The Steerage" is most significant because it was one of the first times a photograph was used to say something about human society with artistic intent while also presenting the scene as realistically as possible instead of either a) merely documenting it largely without comment or artistic intent or b) modifying it significantly to shape a possible message or artistic intent.



                The way Stieglitz captured the photo was starkly different from the way those recognized by the art community as the highest practitioners of photography at that time were doing things. Those few photographers who "had something to say" in 1907 typically used the pictorialist style that used various methods to alter the realism of the scene to fit their message. Stieglitz himself was a pictorialist at the time, and only published The Steerage in 1911 over four years after taking the photo as he began moving away from pictorialism.



                Rather than attempting to sugar coat things and make them look as romantically appealing as was the case with pictorialism, Stieglitz attempted (and succeeded with The Steerage) to show things as realistically as possible. To make an emotional impact, Stieglitz depended on the viewer seeing the contents of the scene as they were and understanding some of the underlying factors that led to the scene appearing the way it did while at the same time recognizing some of the more abstract elements of the scene and their significance.



                The compositional stroke of genius was the way Steiglitz found an angle that placed the empty ans immaculate gangway leading to first class off camera as an apparently impenetrable barrier between those pictured in steerage and those in first class luxury not pictured to the left of and behind the camera. The strong geometric lines of the gangway, the mast, the boom, the deck girder, and the steep staircase to the left serve to confine those in steerage. So although the photo itself was an unaltered view of reality, the elements of that reality and the way Steiglitz managed to place them in the frame had great metaphorical and symbolic significance.



                In art, there are often two different kinds of masterpieces:




                • Those that break new ground and create a way of communicating that has never been done before. These are the "first of their kind" types of masterpieces.

                • Those that build on the former and reach an absolute pinnacle of a particular style that perfects it in such a way that after which there's nowhere higher for anyone else to go.


                It is very rare for the same artist, much less the same work, to do both. Perhaps the best example that comes to mind is Earl Scruggs' 'three finger style' of playing the banjo that never existed before he developed it, and has never been topped by anyone after him.



                Stieglitz's The Steerage is the first type. With it he introduced a new way of using photographs that were starkly realistic yet managed, through their carefully composed realism, to say things in a symbolic and metaphorical way. There are far better examples, in terms of composition and technical prowess, of what Stieglitz started with The Steerage. Some of the works of Weston, Adams, and Lange come to mind. But there are not many, if any, earlier examples.






                share|improve this answer















                Stieglitz and his photo, "The Steerage" are hailed as great not because of its compositional excellence (at least one aspect of the composition is brilliant, and some of the lines in the frame can be seen as a kind of "proto-Cubism) or the technical merits of the photo. "The Steerage" is most significant because it was one of the first times a photograph was used to say something about human society with artistic intent while also presenting the scene as realistically as possible instead of either a) merely documenting it largely without comment or artistic intent or b) modifying it significantly to shape a possible message or artistic intent.



                The way Stieglitz captured the photo was starkly different from the way those recognized by the art community as the highest practitioners of photography at that time were doing things. Those few photographers who "had something to say" in 1907 typically used the pictorialist style that used various methods to alter the realism of the scene to fit their message. Stieglitz himself was a pictorialist at the time, and only published The Steerage in 1911 over four years after taking the photo as he began moving away from pictorialism.



                Rather than attempting to sugar coat things and make them look as romantically appealing as was the case with pictorialism, Stieglitz attempted (and succeeded with The Steerage) to show things as realistically as possible. To make an emotional impact, Stieglitz depended on the viewer seeing the contents of the scene as they were and understanding some of the underlying factors that led to the scene appearing the way it did while at the same time recognizing some of the more abstract elements of the scene and their significance.



                The compositional stroke of genius was the way Steiglitz found an angle that placed the empty ans immaculate gangway leading to first class off camera as an apparently impenetrable barrier between those pictured in steerage and those in first class luxury not pictured to the left of and behind the camera. The strong geometric lines of the gangway, the mast, the boom, the deck girder, and the steep staircase to the left serve to confine those in steerage. So although the photo itself was an unaltered view of reality, the elements of that reality and the way Steiglitz managed to place them in the frame had great metaphorical and symbolic significance.



                In art, there are often two different kinds of masterpieces:




                • Those that break new ground and create a way of communicating that has never been done before. These are the "first of their kind" types of masterpieces.

                • Those that build on the former and reach an absolute pinnacle of a particular style that perfects it in such a way that after which there's nowhere higher for anyone else to go.


                It is very rare for the same artist, much less the same work, to do both. Perhaps the best example that comes to mind is Earl Scruggs' 'three finger style' of playing the banjo that never existed before he developed it, and has never been topped by anyone after him.



                Stieglitz's The Steerage is the first type. With it he introduced a new way of using photographs that were starkly realistic yet managed, through their carefully composed realism, to say things in a symbolic and metaphorical way. There are far better examples, in terms of composition and technical prowess, of what Stieglitz started with The Steerage. Some of the works of Weston, Adams, and Lange come to mind. But there are not many, if any, earlier examples.







                share|improve this answer














                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited 29 mins ago

























                answered 37 mins ago









                Michael CMichael C

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