Untitled
Aaron Siskind
American, 1903–1991
c. 1954
A gelatin silver print in which Aaron Siskind transforms peeling paint, drips, and cracked plaster into a spare, abstract composition that treats a wall’s surface like a painterly field.
A deep black ground punctuated by chalky white eruptions, delicate linear drips, and fissured textures creates the sensation of tactile relief—like fossilized gestures or calligraphic marks hovering on a dark void.
By isolating and reframing urban surfaces as nonrepresentational images, Siskind helped extend photography into the realm of abstract expression, showing that photographs could convey texture, emotion, and formal invention as powerfully as painting.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
14 × 19 13/16" (35.6 × 50.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the artist
Accession
107.1964
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
