Aaron Siskind

@Photographers, Facts and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Aaron Siskind was an American photographer, who was considered to be involved with abstract expressionist movement American Photographers Sagittarius Celebrities 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.

Personal Details

Birthday: December 4, 1903 Died on: February 8, 1991 Nationality: American Famous: Photographers Spouses: Mary Ann Siskind Universities: City College of New York Birth Place: New York City Information Detail Birthday December 4, 1903 Died on February 8, 1991 Nationality American Famous Photographers Spouses Mary Ann Siskind Universities City College of New York Birth Place New York City Gender Male Sun Sign Sagittarius Born in New York City Famous as Photographer Died at Age 87

New York City

Aaron Siskind born at Unsplash Birth Place

Siskind is sometimes referred to as the ‘Father of Modern Photography’ as he in his own way re-invented photography by giving it a touch that no one had given it before. People who have developed a liking towards Siskind’s work regard other photography as predictable and boring. Unsplash Personal Life

It is believed that Siskind died of a stroke at his home in Providence, at the age of 87. He was survived by a daughter, two sisters and two grandchildren. Unsplash Personal Life

Aaron Siskind was born in New York and grew up in Lower East Side. He was born to a Russian Jewish immigrant. He was the fifth child and had five siblings. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and earned his Bachelor of Social Science degree in Literature from the College of the City of New York in 1926. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He was inclined to music and poetry during his formative years. It was but natural for him to grow up to be a Lecturer. Throughout his childhood, he probably had not seen even the face of a camera. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Immediately after graduating, he taught English in New York City Public School for 21 years, from 1926 to 1947. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

It was in 1929, by accident that he realized his love for photography when he was given a camera as a wedding gift. With this new found hobby, Siskind, explored his camera and went click-berserk & became an enthusiastic member of the New York Photo League. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Aaron Siskind began his career in photography as a member of the Photo League in the 1930s. He started off as a Documentary Photographer and produced many documentaries including Harlem Document. Unsplash Career

In 1940s, while he was in Martha's Vineyard, his started taking pictures which lay importance to textures, shapes and abstract form. Unlike any conventional photographer, he captured the very ordinary things. However, he brought out the extra-ordinary from the ordinary. Unsplash Career

During the period 1943-1944, he combined abstract with real life and created interesting photographs from discarded and found objects on Martha’s Vineyard and in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Unsplash Career

From 1947-1949, he taught photography at Trenton Junior College, Trenton, New Jersey. Here, he passed on his students the talent of shooting the most trivial of things yet getting the best out of them. Unsplash Career

In 1950, Sisikind was persuaded by Harry Callahan his colleague, to join him as a part of the faculty of the IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. Unsplash Career

In 1950, he wrote ‘Credo” as an artist’s statement for the symposium, ‘What is Modern Photography?’ Unsplash Major Works

In 1959, Horizon Press published his first book, ‘Aaron Siskind: Photographs’ Unsplash Major Works

In 1965, George Eastman House published his second book, ‘Aaron Siskind: Photographer’ Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	December 4, 1903
Died on	February 8, 1991
Nationality	American
Famous	Photographers
Spouses	Mary Ann Siskind
Universities	City College of New York
Birth Place	New York City
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Sagittarius
Born in	New York City
Famous as	Photographer
Died at Age	87

Aaron Siskind

American

Dec 4, 1903

Biography

Personal Details

New York City