Aaron Siskind Biography

Aaron Siskind was a teacher, editor and photographer, who was best known for his innovations in abstract photography. He studied literature and enjoyed poetry and music as a child. He showed all traits of growing up to be a writer. But it was the accidental landing of a camera in his hand when he had his first stint at photography. He started off as a social documentary photographer producing series such as Harlem Documentary, a survey of life in Harlem. He drew inspiration from anything abstract such as road surfaces, peeling plaster, road signs and graffiti. His work consisted of close-up details of asphalt pavement, rocks, lava flows and painted walls. Another strikingly notable feature of his photography was that he focussed on flat shapes rather than on objects with the pictorial illusion of possessing three dimensions. He was the first photographer to combine real world and abstraction. His photographs & images reflected the influence of abstract-expressionist painters of that period which included Kline, Motherwell, and de Kooning. As his love for photography grew, he was cut off from the social and political world. He began to derive more joy from inanimate forms he observed around him. Hence, anything abstract became his muse. To learn more interesting facts about him, read on.