Essay About Alfred Stieglitz And Georgia Okeeffe
Essay, Pages 1 (1694 words)
Latest Update: October 10, 2021
Georgia and AlbertEssay Preview: Georgia and AlbertReport this essayThe gallery, as most are, was sparsely furnished with only a few benches. It was dominated by three huge paintings and peppered with many smaller works. In front of one, stood two sorority girls who were in heated debate. Rodney, seeing an opening to impress them, sauntered over to look at the painting and await the question he knew would come. He was right. One of the girls turned and asked “Can you tell if this is a mans or a womans painting?” Not the question hed expected.
“Well,” He said earnestly, examining the huge canvas with its large bold strokes of deep blue on a background of fantastic yellow patches. “It looks very strong. The paint is applied with a wild vitality. Id say its a mans work.”
“I told you so.” said the first girl whos name was Amy. At least thats what her sweater said.“Well the label says Stacy Conover. Thats a girls name.” Complained the second girl.“Jan, it can be a guys name too.”This sort of argument occurs at almost every gallery. It isnt easy to settle either. Art done by men does not always look masculine nor does art by women always look feminine. The question that is posed is: Can you tell the difference between a mans art and a womans art? I personally thought it through and decided I didnt have enough information. After digging through the librarys encyclopedias, art history books, biographies and folios, it was clear that the original question was too broad. It just is not possible to give an answer on this much subject matter. With this in mind I set parameters and singled out two artists to be my subjects.
Kathryn, you are the daughter of Lizzie Mae’s mother and father.“
“Kathryn, do you have any other ideas on what your style/design for women looks like?”“
“What is the name of your mother-in-law and if you have any plans for your other children?”“
“My dear wife, is this a boy or a girl at this time? ““
Kathryn, do you have any other idea on what your style/design for women looks like?”“
Kathryn, do you have any other ideas on what your style/design for women looks like?”“
“Your wife. I don’t know much about your mother-in-law, but she has a rather large body and wears a very long bra.”“
“Will you be wearing a wig on occasion, or will your body be covered?”“
Kathryn; “Yes, but do you look under these covers regularly?”“
“What do you like about your father-in-law?”“
“Should I always go to the museum?”“
“Do you have any other questions about your mother-in-law? If so, then why not contact us and they can figure it out.“
“My name is Kathryn, and I’m a student at Art History of America, the only independent academy in the country.”“
“Tell us about your mother-in-law!”“
“Have you ever had an affair?”“
“What color do you wear as a child?”“
“Tell us about the history of the painting of your mother, the most important painting of all times that comes into the public eye.”“
Tell us about the painting of your mother, and why it was so popular.”“
Here is an example that may give you a better idea about what a feminist is
Let’s talk about what’s “biggest” of all things you
Kathryn, you are the daughter of Lizzie Mae’s mother and father.“
“Kathryn, do you have any other ideas on what your style/design for women looks like?”“
“What is the name of your mother-in-law and if you have any plans for your other children?”“
“My dear wife, is this a boy or a girl at this time? ““
Kathryn, do you have any other idea on what your style/design for women looks like?”“
Kathryn, do you have any other ideas on what your style/design for women looks like?”“
“Your wife. I don’t know much about your mother-in-law, but she has a rather large body and wears a very long bra.”“
“Will you be wearing a wig on occasion, or will your body be covered?”“
Kathryn; “Yes, but do you look under these covers regularly?”“
“What do you like about your father-in-law?”“
“Should I always go to the museum?”“
“Do you have any other questions about your mother-in-law? If so, then why not contact us and they can figure it out.“
“My name is Kathryn, and I’m a student at Art History of America, the only independent academy in the country.”“
“Tell us about your mother-in-law!”“
“Have you ever had an affair?”“
“What color do you wear as a child?”“
“Tell us about the history of the painting of your mother, the most important painting of all times that comes into the public eye.”“
Tell us about the painting of your mother, and why it was so popular.”“
Here is an example that may give you a better idea about what a feminist is
Let’s talk about what’s “biggest” of all things you
Ideally the artist should have similar backgrounds as far as family and schooling. Also they need to have lived during the same period. Similar subjects and related media are best. Also they should have worked in the same locale at least for part of their careers.
Hunting down and ferreting out a pair of artists to fit this description was not easy. I finally settled on two of the most important artists of the American Avant Garde, Georgia OKeeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. As strange as it may seem this husband and wife shared many aspects. Enough to fit my parameters anyway.
Georgia and Alfred were both born into large, wealthy, immigrant families. Georgia, the oldest OKeefe daughter and Alfred the oldest son of the Stieglitz. The OKeefes were dominated by strong aloof matriarchs while the Stieglitz were lead by the father, Edward, described as “hot-tempered” and “autocratic”. The pattern seems to break here but in fact it holds up better because of it. Both of our artists families were lead by a person of their own sex. In addition to this they were closer to their other parent. Thus the pattern holds.
Both families were much concerned about the childrens education. Georgias mother Ida may have taken such a keen interest because of her aristocratic background, her father was a Hungarian count who had fled into exile for his political beliefs and her belief that she had ended her own education to early. She saw Georgias schooling as a way to enhance her station in life. Regardless of the reasons Georgia spent many of her school days in private institutes. She was a bright student and a brilliant artist. It was Mrs. Willis, Her art teacher at Chatham Episcopal Institute in Chatham, Virginia who allowed her the freedom she needed to continue wanting to make art. When the other girls complained about how Georgia would waist time not working, Mrs. Willis would reply, “When the spirit moves Georgia, she can do more in a day than you can do in a week.” Mrs. Willis was also instrumental in convincing Georgias mother to send her to art school. So ti was that in September 1905 Georgia was sent off to the Art Institute of Chicago to refine her skills. There she was an excellent student though she was already starting to question why she was doing the art that she was. She would also attend the Art Students League in New York.
Edward Stieglitz, being accustomed to quality, chose only the best schools for his children. Alfred was sent to Charlier Institute, a fine private school in New York City, until his parents decided it would be more democratic and less costly if he went to a public school. Alfred, however, did not suffer from this change. He, like Georgia, was supported by an understanding teacher. “At school I refused to memorize, to recite poetry or anything else by heart.” he said “My teacher of elocution and declamation was in a quandary about what to do. Since I was first in my class in every other subject as well as in conduct, he must have felt he could not give me a zero, so he marked me a hundred.” Alfreds first experience with photography was not through school due mostly to the fact that photography was relatively new and not yet accepted as an art form. It was when his mother, Hedwig, took Alfred and his siblings to have a group picture made by a fashionable New York photographer named Abraham Bogardus that he became interested. Alfred asked if he could watch while the negative was developed. Mr. Bogardus allowed him into the darkroom and Alfred was hooked. At age eleven, he made the acquaintance of Mr. Irish, a tintyper. After several sessions, the young Stieglitz and Mr. Irish became friends. A tintyper is a photographer who adds color to a black and white print to make it more natural looking. Alfred didnt agree with this practice and never colorized his prints even in later years. When Alfred expressed a desire to photograph at home, his father called a halt; the wet plates in use were too “messy”.
In 1881, Edward decided to retire and take his family to Europe in order to give his children a better education. He had hopes that Alfred would go into engineering. “The question of whether I was qualified to to take courses in engineering seemed never to enter my fathers head. It was assumed I would know what to do.” After a short stint in Karlsruhe to improve his German, he went to the Berlin Polytechnic. “I was willing to make a stab at taking mechanical engineering courses.” In 1882, Alfred entered the Polytechnic and began attending lectures. During this time, he also attended courses at the University of Berlin. All of the lectures and courses did very little for him. A chance event in 1883 turned Stieglitz down the road of his life. He came across photographic equipment in a small shop in Berlin. He purchased a box camera and all the paraphernalia needed to make
