I thought I had mentioned the work of photographer Paul Strand here before but can’t seem to locate it. Strand lived from 1890 until 1976 and was part of the Modernist era of the early 2oth century, using his camera to capture the urban landscape’s abstracted forms in a way that no photographer had to that time. The image shown here, Wall Street, is perhaps one of his most famous.
His portraiture is also quite striking. Doing a Google image search, the page is immediately filled with multiple fairly closely cropped images of faces in black and white. They’re shot in a way that might make you think it would be difficult to discern any particular photographer’s eye but seeing them altogether shows clearly how he saw his subjects and show the continuity in his work. Strand was a student of the great Lewis Hine and carried on Hine’s use of the camera as a tool for social reform. His photos of the inhabitants of the city streets are powerful and gritty.
One of his projects was a film, Manhatta, with the great Modernist painter/photographer Charles Sheeler, another of my favorites. It is a really interesting view of the bustling, swelling city from 1921 taken from Strand’s and Sheeler’s unique perspectives. Just great imagery.
Off topic here, sort of – I just ran across an artist in Ecuador whose recent show is called “The Mola Series”. When you have a minute, I think you’d enjoy a look at what she’s doing. Her work made me think of your work, which of course makes me think of molas…. and around and around we go!
Great site. I really like her work a lot. Thanks!
[…] mentioned the work of Charles Sheeler here, outside of a mention of his collaboration with Paul Strand on the film Manhatta, a landmark American art film from 1921. Sheeler (1883-1965) is one of my favorite artists who […]
[…] have featured the photography of Paul Strand here before, writing about his groundbreaking work in the early decades of the 20th century. There is […]