Martha's Vineyard 108 Possibly 1954 - 1975

Aaron Siskind made this photograph, Martha's Vineyard 108, with a camera, somewhere on the island that gives the image its name. Look at how Siskind uses light and shadow to shape these monumental forms. The rocks aren't just rocks; they become these hulking, almost abstract shapes pressing against the frame. Think about the texture, the grainy quality of the stone, how it contrasts with the smooth, empty space around it. It's like he's playing with positive and negative space, turning nature into something almost architectural. The dark rock in the foreground—it feels so solid, so grounded. But then there's this little gap above, a sliver of light that hints at something beyond, a sense of possibility. Siskind reminds me of Franz Kline, who also found abstraction in the everyday. But where Kline used paint, Siskind used the lens. Both invite us to see the world not just as it is, but as what it could be.