Three Steps | Worn patina Trodden diagonal Distance traversed |
C
oncentrating on intimate details while compressing three-dimensional space into a level plane, here a found abstraction is extracted from a weathered surface. Aaron Siskind, whom is now considered as an abstract expressionist, was perhaps the first to explore this type of subject matter photographically. He felt that his details of nature and architecture, presented as flat surfaces, existed completely independent of the original subject. Clement Greenberg, an influential American art critic, proclaimed abstract expressionism as the epitome of aesthetic value. Why this creative style gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s is subject of much debate.
“We look at the world and see what we have learned to believe is there. We have been conditioned to expect... but, as photographers, we must learn to relax our beliefs.” - Aaron Siskind
