alb3615958

ALFRED STIEGLITZ. Spiritual America

Spiritual America. Artist: Alfred Stieglitz (American, Hoboken, New Jersey 1864-1946 New York). Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.2 cm. (4 9/16 x 3 5/8 in.). Date: 1923.
In the decade leading up to the Great Depression, American modernism was a highly contested concept. Stieglitz, perhaps justifiably, considered himself one of the few qualified to dictate its course, having surrounded himself with a group of like-minded and devoted artists, critics, and writers whom he directed in an almost shamanistic fashion. Spirituality loomed large in his vision of American identity, but he was disheartened and offended with what he viewed as a pent-up, materialist, and culturally bankrupt American way. In a rare attempt at ironic commentary, Stieglitz produced this picture of a harnessed, castrated horse--a pure representation of eradicated sexual prowess and restrained muscular energy--and labeled it Spiritual America. In effect, he suggested that America was lacking in spirit by reinterpreting the horse, a traditional American symbol of unstoppable force, as a trussed-up pattern of slick geometry.

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Author: Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)

Title: Spiritual America

Caption: Spiritual America. Artist: Alfred Stieglitz (American, Hoboken, New Jersey 1864-1946 New York). Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.2 cm. (4 9/16 x 3 5/8 in.). Date: 1923. In the decade leading up to the Great Depression, American modernism was a highly contested concept. Stieglitz, perhaps justifiably, considered himself one of the few qualified to dictate its course, having surrounded himself with a group of like-minded and devoted artists, critics, and writers whom he directed in an almost shamanistic fashion. Spirituality loomed large in his vision of American identity, but he was disheartened and offended with what he viewed as a pent-up, materialist, and culturally bankrupt American way. In a rare attempt at ironic commentary, Stieglitz produced this picture of a harnessed, castrated horse--a pure representation of eradicated sexual prowess and restrained muscular energy--and labeled it Spiritual America. In effect, he suggested that America was lacking in spirit by reinterpreting the horse, a traditional American symbol of unstoppable force, as a trussed-up pattern of slick geometry.

Technique/material: Gelatin silver print

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Credit: Album

Image size: 3320 × 4213 px | 40.0 MB

Print size: 28.1 × 35.7 cm | 1307.1 × 1658.7 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: ALFRED STIEGLITZ • GELATIN SILVER PRINT • GELATIN SILVER PRINTS • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA • PHOTOGRAPHS • UNITED STATES