Aaron Siskind
Encyclopedia
Aaron Siskind was an American abstract expressionist photographer. In his biography he wrote that he began his foray into photography when he received a camera
for a wedding gift and began taking pictures on his honeymoon. He quickly realized the artistic potential this offered. He worked in both New York City
and Chicago
.
Siskind's work focuses on the details of nature and architecture
. He presents them as flat surfaces to create a new image out of them, which, he claimed, stands independent of the original subject.
Early in his career Siskind was a member of the New York Photo League. Working with that group, Siskind produced several significant socially conscious series of images in the 1930s. Among them the "Harlem Document" remains the most famous. He originally was a grade school English teacher in the New York Public School System.
In 1950 Siskind met Harry Callahan when both were teaching at Black Mountain College
in the summer. Later, Callahan persuaded Siskind to join him as part of the faculty of the IIT Institute of Design
in Chicago (founded by László Moholy-Nagy
as the New Bauhaus). In 1971 he followed Callahan (who had left in 1961) to teach for the rest of his life at the Rhode Island School of Design
.
A major character in the film One Hour Photo
(about a disturbed photograph developer who stalks what he sees as the perfect family) is named after Siskind. The character of Mr. Siskind is not the main (psychologically disturbed) character, nor is the film in any way modeled after the life and works of Aaron Siskind.
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
for a wedding gift and began taking pictures on his honeymoon. He quickly realized the artistic potential this offered. He worked in both New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Siskind's work focuses on the details of nature and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. He presents them as flat surfaces to create a new image out of them, which, he claimed, stands independent of the original subject.
Early in his career Siskind was a member of the New York Photo League. Working with that group, Siskind produced several significant socially conscious series of images in the 1930s. Among them the "Harlem Document" remains the most famous. He originally was a grade school English teacher in the New York Public School System.
In 1950 Siskind met Harry Callahan when both were teaching at Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College, a school founded in 1933 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, was a new kind of college in the United States in which the study of art was seen to be central to a liberal arts education, and in which John Dewey's principles of education played a major role...
in the summer. Later, Callahan persuaded Siskind to join him as part of the faculty of the IIT Institute of Design
IIT Institute of Design
Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology , originally founded as the New Bauhaus, is a graduate school teaching systemic, human-centered design.- History :...
in Chicago (founded by László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
as the New Bauhaus). In 1971 he followed Callahan (who had left in 1961) to teach for the rest of his life at the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
.
A major character in the film One Hour Photo
One Hour Photo
One Hour Photo is a 2002 American psychological thriller written and directed by Mark Romanek and starring Robin Williams. Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed the film in the United States. One Hour Photo also starred Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Gary Cole, and Eriq La Salle. Williams won a...
(about a disturbed photograph developer who stalks what he sees as the perfect family) is named after Siskind. The character of Mr. Siskind is not the main (psychologically disturbed) character, nor is the film in any way modeled after the life and works of Aaron Siskind.
Chronology
- 1903 Born December 4, New York City.
- 1915–1926 Educated in New York City at De Witt Clinton High School, and City College, B.S.S. in Literature.
- 1926–1947 English instructor in New York City public school system.
- 1929 Marries Sidonie Glaller; gets his first camera as a honeymoon gift.
- 1932–1935 Active in the New York Workers' Film and Photo League. Buys a Voigtlander Avus.
- 1936–1941 Active in the reorganized New York Photo League. Established the Feature Group, a documentary production unit, as part of the Photo League School. Produced group and Independent photo-series including: The Catholic Worker Movement; Dead End: The Bowery; The End of City Repertory Theatre; The Harlem Document; Lost Generation: The Plight of Youth Today; The Most Crowded Block in the World; Park Avenue: North and South; Sixteenth Street: A Cross-section of New York; and Tabernacle City.
- 1940 Published "The Feature Group" in Photo Notes.
- 1943–1944 Created increasingly symbolic and abstract photographs based on discarded and found objects on Martha's Vineyard and in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
- 1945 Published "The Drama of Objects" in Minicam Photography. Established close and enduring ties to the artists of the New York School.
- 1947–1949 Taught photography at Trenton Junior College, Trenton, New Jersey.
- 1947–1951 Exhibited regularly at Charles Egan Gallery. Elaine de Kooning wrote "The Photographs of Aaron Siskind" as the introduction to a * 1951 exhibition of Siskind's photographs at the gallery.
- 1950 Wrote "Credo" as an artist's statement for a symposium titled "What is Modern Photography?", organized by Edward Steichen at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
- 1951 Taught with Harry Callahan during the summer at Black Mountain College.
- 1951–1971 At the invitation of Harry Callahan, Siskind joined the faculty of the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. He was Professor of Photography until 1959, when he became Director of the Photographic Department. He led and participated in advanced student projects including: Apartment interiors of the Mies van der Rohe Lake Shore Drive Skyscrapers, A Chicago Settlement House, The Chicago Housing Authority, The Complete Architecture of Adler and Sullivan (also called the Louis Sullivan project), Details of the Human Body, The Park System of Chicago, and The Series Form. Travels in Greece and Rome.
- 1956 With Harry Callahan, published "Learning Photography at the Institute of Design", in Aperture.
- 1959 Publication of his first book.
- 1960–1970 Co-editor of Choice Magazine.
- 1963–1964 Founder-member of the Society for Photographic Education. Board member, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
- 1966–1983 Receives numerous awards including: Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, Gold Star of Merit award from Philadelphia College of Art, an NEA grant, and the Governor's Prize for the Arts, Rhode Island.
- 1969 Founding member of the Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester.
- 1971–1976 Taught photography with Harry Callahan at Rhode Island School of Design, Providence.
- 1971–1991 An established master, Siskind continues to make photographs and was published and exhibited widely.
- 1984 Incorporated an eponymous foundation that is set up to inherit his vintage photographs, the income from which he mandates be used in support of contemporary photography.
- 1991 Died in Providence RI, February 8, 1991 at 88 years old.
External links
- Bruce Silverstein Gallery
- Marika Herskovic, New York School Abstract Expressionists Artists Choice by Artists, (New York School Press, 2000.) ISBN 0-9677994-0-6