The City - Deconstructing Environmental Photographers

We were given the task of deconstructing a series of images of a building, The Flatiron building in New York, from different authors and explain the differences and similarities of the different images. The images were the following:

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

a): Edward Steichen, The Flatiron, NY, 1905. Edward J. Steichen was an American photographer, painter, museum and art curator. In his picture we see the building called the Flatiron or better known as the Fuller Building, in the background of the shot. The image was taken at street level and so the building is not the most important thing in the image like the pictures d, e, and f but just another element of the image. The building is in the centre of the shot. The artist uses the trees as a way to detract importance and to blend it in. In this Platinum print, he experimented with different chemicals that would best show this building in a twilight surrounding. The concept that Steichen was trying to deliver could have been one that spells the importance of preserving landscapes without large buildings obscuring everybody's view, but all in all, this picturesque scene is most likely depicted negatively through the use of this building.

b): Alfred Stieglitz, The Flatiron, 1903. Alfred Stieglitz was also an American Photographer who constructed his own view of the same place. Similar to photographs a) and c) this image is taken from a street view position and take from a certain distance, looking straight forwards and not upwards, the Fuller is not the main subject of the image, the tree on the foreground has the strongest presence.. Images d), e) and f) are really different because the Fuller is represented in all his vastness and it is the only, or main, subject in the frame. It builds its own narrative that shows the building as the opposite to that of the nature in the foreground. The Flatiron makes itself known through its greyscale structure, amongst the snowy white edges of the trees that stand between it and the tree in the foreground. The trees in the foreground give the building a sense of scale amongst everything else to emphasis just how big it may be. There is a much larger tonal range in this photograph too which adds to its aesthetic contrast.

c): Alvin Langdon Coburn, The Flatiron Building, 1911. Alvin Langdon Coburn shows “The Flatiron Building” which was taking in 1911 almost a decade after Stieglitz's one, and it has a much busier feel to it. This photograph as well is really similar to images a) and b) because of the composition (presence of trees, street view), and the lightning (at evening), but it also defers from the first two because the Flatiron building takes a more imposing and important role in the picture as a structure that sticks out of the skyline made of the trees and buildings at each side. The structure of the first 3 images always seems to give off the same characteristics within each photograph, even if it's not intentional. That real sense of an overwhelming structure amongst all else is a common one. Creating mood and a sense of light through softly focused images were primary concerns. Photographers at that time manipulated the images through printing techniques.

d): Walter Gropius, The Flatiron Building, NY, 1928. Walter Gropius has a different take on it. “The Flatiron Building, New York” as it is so aptly named, shows off the Flatiron building itself in a much more rewarding light. The composition and the framing of this photograph are the key point to make such a highly photographed subject look original and modern.
This image is not shot from a frontal street view, but a view of the right side of the building looking upwards, making it different from the first 3 images we have seen but also accentuating the greatness and the curves of this building. The Fuller is the main and only subject in this photograph, and this original diagonal crop reveals its hugeness. This particular framing makes the Flatiron looks like something surreal and modern. Although there is fairly even light coming from an empty sky, the overall lighting is high-key. The free space in the photograph makes the building the main focus, without any trees or lights in the way to distract from it and giving it a sense of grandeur.

e): Walker Evans, Flatiron Building seen from below, NYC, 1928.
Evans produced highly detailed and straightforward depictions of American life. The artist relied on photography's ability to precisely capture the stark and literate description of the facts in sharp focus. He aimed to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary, thanks to his accurate observation, cultivating a documentary style and a deep sensibility of the American life. The Fuller building is represented with a completely different perspective and scale. The Flatiron building is shot up close, catching more detail, framed by the buildings and the lamppost making the building the centre of attention but also blending it in with the rest of the city and not as a huge and iconic building, like the previous images. Evans shows us a high comprehension about the tones and density of the B&W. In his photograph we can see different tones of black, gray and white.

f): Bernice Abbott, The Flatiron Building, 1938.
Abbott was a documentary photographer and believed that photography was the best media to represent the "real" and "now". Abbott's photograph of the Flatiron is really straightforward and documentary (as images d and e). It's a truly representation of the American architecture. There is much definition and contrast within this photograph. Through all of the photos shown though, there is a clear line between those in favour of overbearing structures, and those who do not appreciate them. I think that much can be said in favour of having them rather than not.



Photographs a, b and c are similar, they represent an icon through an artistic way. All three images are taken from the street, with the camera looking pretty straight. All three use the surroundings to disguise the building, to keep it as a background of the city, trying to introduce a back-story and make it more artistical, as they wanted photography to be accepted as an art.

Photographs d, e and f are three similar images, all taken in a documentary and straight forward style, with an accuracy for the tones and composition, with the camera looking up, to emphasize the vastness of the icon of modernization but also portraying the details of the building as they are closer to it.