Aaron Siskind
Siskind began photographing at close range everyday objects that interested him or that seemed to reflect his emotional state at the time - things like ropes, seaweed, and footprints in the sand. the highly detailed textures of the ground and rusty metal, as well as the overall emphasis on form achieved through the close cropping of the frame.
The close range of this photograph of peeling paint precludes the viewer from gaining any foothold into the space of the picture, emphasising its ultimate flatness. there are also darkly textured material balanced by fewer and smaller dark areas as well as the delicate lines produced by the cracking areas of paint. The abstraction in Siskind's photographs of this kind encourages the viewer to determine the nature of that drama.
The bold, gestural lines of the black graffiti capture the drama and tension between the square format of his photographic image and the bursting energy of the curvilinear, graphic marks, between the intentional marks and the seemingly accidental drips, and between the dark marks and their "shadows" in white
