COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1989.468
amicoid
CMA_.1989.468
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Photographs
oty
Photographs
Object Type
false
Creator Name:
Siskind, Aaron
crn
Siskind, Aaron
Creator Name
false
Creator Nationality:
North American; American
crc
North American; American
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Role:
artist
crr
artist
Creator Role
false
Creator Dates/Places:
1903 - 1991
cdt
1903 - 1991
Creator Dates/Places
false
Biography:
Aaron Siskind American, 1903-1991Born in New York City, Aaron Siskind inspired many photographers through the example of his own work and his instruction at the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, and at the Rhode Island School of Design. Graduating from City College of New York in 1926, Siskind taught English in the city's public schools for 23 years. He took up photography as a hobby in 1930 and two years later learned to process and print his own images. Around this time he joined the Photo League, an organization of socially concerned photographers who promoted documentary photography. Siskind headed the league's project focusing on Harlem (Harlem Document) and also produced his own series Tabernacle City, Bucks County and The MostCrowded Block in the World. In the early 1940s, Siskind's work gradually shifted from a social documentary approach to a more abstract and personal style. During summers on Martha's Vineyard and in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he began photographing naturalobjects close up, eliminating deep, naturalistic space and concentrating on the primacy of the flat, two-dimensional surface of the photograph. As a result of his experiments, he came to be interested in the photograph as a physical object in its own right, rather than as a reflection of the outside world. In 1947 Siskind exhibited his new work at the Egan Gallery in New York, where the paintings of the abstract expressionists were shown. He became friends with painter Franz Kline and other members of his circle and through their support published his first book, Aaron Siskind: Photographs (1959). In the 1950s Siskind also began to establish himself as a photography teacher. He gained his first experience as a part-time instructor at Trenton College (1949-51), then taught during the summer of 1951 at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. There he worked with Harry Callahan, who invited him to join the staff of the Institute of Design in Chicago. Siskind taught at the institute from 1951-71, when he left to join the Rhode Island School of Design where Callahan now headed the department of photography. Siskind continued to teach at the school until his retirement in 1976. Over the years Siskind remained interested in exploring the formal and abstract qualities of photography, becoming known for his closeup, abstracted views of rocks, peeling paint, bits of graffiti, torn signs, and other objects. He exhibited widely, and in 1982 his photographs were featured in a major retrospective, Aaron Siskind: Fifty Years, organized by the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson. M.M.
crb
Aaron Siskind American, 1903-1991Born in New York City, Aaron Siskind inspired many photographers through the example of his own work and his instruction at the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, and at the Rhode Island School of Design. Graduating from City College of New York in 1926, Siskind taught English in the city's public schools for 23 years. He took up photography as a hobby in 1930 and two years later learned to process and print his own images. Around this time he joined the Photo League, an organization of socially concerned photographers who promoted documentary photography. Siskind headed the league's project focusing on Harlem (Harlem Document) and also produced his own series Tabernacle City, Bucks County and The MostCrowded Block in the World. In the early 1940s, Siskind's work gradually shifted from a social documentary approach to a more abstract and personal style. During summers on Martha's Vineyard and in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he began photographing naturalobjects close up, eliminating deep, naturalistic space and concentrating on the primacy of the flat, two-dimensional surface of the photograph. As a result of his experiments, he came to be interested in the photograph as a physical object in its own right, rather than as a reflection of the outside world. In 1947 Siskind exhibited his new work at the Egan Gallery in New York, where the paintings of the abstract expressionists were shown. He became friends with painter Franz Kline and other members of his circle and through their support published his first book, Aaron Siskind: Photographs (1959). In the 1950s Siskind also began to establish himself as a photography teacher. He gained his first experience as a part-time instructor at Trenton College (1949-51), then taught during the summer of 1951 at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. There he worked with Harry Callahan, who invited him to join the staff of the Institute of Design in Chicago. Siskind taught at the institute from 1951-71, when he left to join the Rhode Island School of Design where Callahan now headed the department of photography. Siskind continued to teach at the school until his retirement in 1976. Over the years Siskind remained interested in exploring the formal and abstract qualities of photography, becoming known for his closeup, abstracted views of rocks, peeling paint, bits of graffiti, torn signs, and other objects. He exhibited widely, and in 1982 his photographs were featured in a major retrospective, Aaron Siskind: Fifty Years, organized by the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson. M.M.
Biography
false
Gender:
M
cgn
M
Gender
false
Creator Birth Place:
New York, NY
cbp
New York, NY
Creator Birth Place
false
Creator Death Place:
Providence, RI
cdp
Providence, RI
Creator Death Place
false
Creator Name-CRT:
Aaron Siskind
crt
Aaron Siskind
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
New York 3
otn
New York 3
Title
false
Title Type:
Primary
ott
Primary
Title Type
false
View:
Full View
rid
Full View
View
false
Creation Date:
1951
oct
1951
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1951
ocs
1951
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1951
oce
1951
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
gelatin silver print
omd
gelatin silver print
Materials and Techniques
false
Classification Term:
Photography
clt
Photography
Classification Term
false
Dimensions:
Sheet: 27.6cm x 35.3cm, Image: 26.2cm x 33.6cm
met
Sheet: 27.6cm x 35.3cm, Image: 26.2cm x 33.6cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
oon
The Cleveland Museum of Art
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
oop
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1989.468
ooa
1989.468
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Purchased with a grant from the NEA and matched by contributions from Museum members in 1989
ooc
Purchased with a grant from the NEA and matched by contributions from Museum members in 1989
Credit Line
false
Inscriptions:
Written in pencil on verso: "N.Y.C. '51 / Aaron Siskind [signed]"; "NY3"
oin
Written in pencil on verso: "N.Y.C. '51 / Aaron Siskind [signed]"; "NY3"
Inscriptions
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html"target="_new">http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html</a>
Rights
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1989.468.tif
ril
CMA_.1989.468.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false