Equivalent 1930

Alfred Stieglitz made this photograph, titled Equivalent, in the United States. This image is part of a series of cloud studies that Stieglitz began in the 1920s. Let's consider how this image creates meaning. Stieglitz was a key figure in the Photo-Secession movement which sought to elevate photography to the status of fine art. At this time, photography was often dismissed as a purely mechanical process lacking artistic merit. Stieglitz and his followers argued that photography could be just as expressive and creative as painting or sculpture. In Equivalent, Stieglitz aimed to capture the emotional and spiritual qualities of the clouds, seeing them as metaphors for inner states of being. It commented on the social structures of its time by challenging the established hierarchy of the art world. Art historians may use resources such as exhibition catalogs and critical reviews to understand the debates around photography in this period. With research, we come to understand the social and institutional contexts that shape art.