Songs of the Sky or Equivalent 1923 - 1931

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, Songs of the Sky, in the early decades of the twentieth century in the United States. The wispy forms of the clouds create an image that seems entirely abstract. Stieglitz was a key figure in promoting photography as a fine art within American institutions. He created photographs like these to be exhibited alongside painting and sculpture, and celebrated as high art forms, even though photography was often seen as a purely documentary medium. He worked to disconnect photography from its association with realistic depiction. In this way, the politics of photography became tied to the social status of the medium itself. The image has no reference to the modern city, or to the working classes that Stieglitz often photographed. Instead, it celebrates nature as a source of beauty and spiritual experience, comparable to music. To understand this work fully, we need to consider the ways photography was collected, exhibited, and talked about in the early 20th century. Researching gallery archives, exhibition reviews, and the writings of photographers can help us to understand its meaning and significance.