On the Ferry Boat Possibly 1902 - 1932

Alfred Stieglitz captured this photograph, "On the Ferry Boat," using gelatin silver print. In this image, we see a horse-drawn carriage amidst a crowd, the smokestacks of urban buildings in the background. Here, the horse, a potent symbol, pulls not just a carriage, but also the weight of civilization. Think back to classical antiquity; horses were associated with the sun gods Apollo and Helios, pulling their chariots across the sky. But here, the horse's vigor is juxtaposed with the rise of industry, marked by the smokestacks belching smoke. This industrialization, viewed through a psychoanalytic lens, represents humanity's relentless drive for progress. This drive, like the horse, has carried us forward, but with what psychic and environmental consequences? Note how this dynamic between nature and industry is not linear. It evokes the cyclical nature of human endeavors—the rise and fall of civilizations—a visual echo across time. The image, therefore, is not merely a scene, but a mirror reflecting our collective memory and subconscious anxieties.