Songs of the Sky DD1 c. 1923

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, Songs of the Sky DD1, with a camera, lens, and photographic paper, but really, it feels like it was made with charcoal and maybe gouache, like a drawing. I can imagine Stieglitz looking up, way up, framing a piece of the sky, and then waiting for the right moment when the clouds gather just so. It’s all about light and dark, these big swooping gestures, full of air and volume. The tones almost glow. There’s this one dark cloud, low down, almost heart-shaped, that anchors the whole thing. Stieglitz made a whole series of these cloud photos, which he called “equivalents.” He was thinking about music and how it could express inner feelings. He was inspired by the Symbolists, who also wanted to find abstract forms for emotions. These cloud pictures are like a painter’s abstract expressionist gestures; they invite you to feel, not just see. And that’s the thing about making, whether it’s painting or photography, it’s all part of one big conversation.