The Barn 1922

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, "The Barn," with a camera, and a darkroom, somewhere in the first half of the 20th century. I'm interested in the way he looked at this barn, as something more than just a barn. Like he's looking for the soul of it. It makes me wonder what it was like for him, setting up the camera, waiting for the light to be just right. The grayness of the image is powerful. It's not just black and white, but a whole range of grays, each one telling a different story. And the texture of the wood – you can almost feel it, the rough grain, the way it's aged and weathered. It reminds me a little of some of Walker Evans' photographs and the way they connect to straight painting, like Fairfield Porter, say. These photographs are so direct, but they teach us how to see.