From My Window at An American Place, North 1931

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, From My Window at An American Place, North, with gelatin silver. You can see the buildings through his window, right? I feel for Stieglitz here, looking out on this cityscape. He must have been hemmed in by all those buildings, all those windows. Each window like a little mark, a repetition of the same gesture, echoing each other. It makes me wonder what was on his mind when he framed this shot, looking out onto the world. It’s like a minimalist painting, isn’t it? So many lines, so many repeated shapes. I love the way photography lets you freeze a moment, like a painter trying to capture a fleeting feeling, a momentary mood. Stieglitz, with his camera, found a way to show us how he saw the world. And now we can see it too, through his eyes, from his window. Artists are always showing each other new ways to see!