Aaron Siskind

詳細 2014年5月30日 14:26更新: アーロン・シスキン

写真家、アメリカ人、ニューヨーク生

１９０３－１９９１
I was given a small camera as a wedding gift from a very dear friend. My first pictures were taken on my honeymoon. As soon as I became familiar with the camera, I was intrigued with the possibilities of expression it offered. It was like a discovery for me.

So Aaron Siskind described his start in photography. He had been interested in poetry and literature in college and for long time believed he would become a writer. Around 1930, after moving to New York, Siskind joined the Film and Photo League, a cultural organization of the Communist Party. The social documentary or "street" photography exhibited there inspired him. Soon afterward, he bought a large-format view camera and his style began to shift toward more abstract work.

A lifelong teacher, Siskind taught elementary school and junior high school English from 1926 until 1949. He resigned and briefly tried to earn his living as a photographer, but he was unable to do so. After moving to Chicago at Harry Callahan's invitation, Siskind combined his interests by teaching photography at the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology for twenty years.