What feeling do you get when you look at this particular piece of art by Edward Steichen?

I like many of Steichen’s photographs, but this one feels too contrived for me to take it seriously. The feeling it evokes for me is an eye roll.

My first thought was“Holy fuck”. Wow, that cuts right through you and taps some ancient part of your soul.

I don’t care for that photograph.

I think that this is my favorite of his.

@Mama_Cakes It’s okay, but it doesn’t really touch me.

@Mama_Cakes That’s the one I think of when I think of Steichen. This is what he did best, capturing the nobility of the subject. The image linked in your details, just has too much “Steichen” in the way. Too manipulative.

But then photography was new, and artists were exploring its potentials. It’s only natural that they would refer to the more manipulative arts before discovering the particular strengths of the medium.

I like the first one a LOT. It invokes feelings of shame and pride both.

Felt disturbed with the first photo. Was that a seashell-? Got depressed by the second Flatiron Bldg. photo but loved the atmosphere.

That’s disturbing…
It feels exactly like a bad dream that you wish you could wake up from.

It doesn’t do anything for me. I don’t get it, and don’t find it particualrily interesting or affecting.

I wish some of you could describe what made you feel it was “disturbing”, I’m curious.

@KNOWITALL The face is old and reflects either great pain and/or sadness, or possibly some malevolence. The swirls above it are the dark thoughts he’s harboring. Plus everything is dark in the picture. It just brings dark thoughts to mind. It did it the first time and still does it over and over for me.

@Adirondackwannabe Thank you. I see scars and pain, yet strength, on a proud man of a proud race. He will never give up no matter what they do to him. Courage and hope are what I take from it.

It seems like a dead man in a dark inescapable cave. A terrible cycle of hopelessness and defeat. He looks as though he has something he wants to communicate with us, but he cannot.

It’s a really weird picture, that makes me feel depressed all over again. Just sayin.

@genjgal @KNOWITALL Interesting takes on it. I like both of your answers.

We are saturated with images in today’s world and they have to be really good to make an impact. This one didn’t make an impact on me. It seemed contrived without having anything in particular to say.

Doesn’t do anything for me. Looks like an ad for a seance.

I don’t find it very interesting. People seem to be making a lot of assumptions about the status of the man… I mean, something appears to be wrong with his eyes, but other than that, we don’t know anything about him. We can’t even see how he’s dressed. He could be wearing a suit for all we know.

It creeps me out – I think it’s the eyes and that I can only see a head (no body or neck). The stuff nightmares are made of. The second photo feels antique and sort of haunting.

Ha ha…I looked at it again and it’s really pretty fucked up.

Nothing.