Project Part Two: Article

The Life of Paul Strand

By Paul Chung

Paul Strand was born on Oct. 16, 1890 in New York. He was an only child, born to parents of Bohemian-Jewish descent. At the age of 17, Strand developed an interest in photography and enrolled in the Ethical Culture School. There, he was taught by Lewis W. Hine, a pioneer of photojournalism. Urged by Hine, Strand began to visit “291,” a gallery started by Alfred Stieglitz.  This gallery became an inspiration to Strand. There, Strand met Stieglitz and was shown paintings of Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, and Georges Braque that were on display. These works inspired him to emphasize abstract form and pattern in his photographs. After graduation and a brief trip to Europe, Strand became a self-employed commercial photographer.

Strand photographed a variety of subject matter, including landscapes, portraits, architecture, and abstraction. His work was exhibited at both the New York Camera Club and the London Salon. Strand brought his portfolio to Stieglitz in 1915 and was offered a show at the 291 gallery. Strand served in the Army Medical Corps during World War I. There, he was introduced to x-rays.

A turning point in his career came in 1915 when he discovered capabilities of a large-format camera, also known as “straight photography.” His photographs moved from soft-focus scenes of New York and its inhabitants to sharply focused expressions of objective reality. He viewed photography as a means for life, nature, and scenery.

In 1917, Paul Strand said that if one were to use photography honestly he must have "respect for the thing in front of him."

In 1920, Paul shifted his concentration to politics. He explored the relationship between politics and art and devoted his career to various causes. This made him turn to cinematography for ten years between 1920 and 1930.

Strand traveled to Mexico, where he photographed the landscape, architecture, folk art, and people. In 1934 he produced a film about fishermen for the Mexican government.

In 1934 Strand helped start Frontier Films, a documentary film company dedicated to pro-labor causes. Strand remained an active photographer while working in film, but his subject matter changed. He concentrated on images of farmers and villagers in New England and Mexico, showing nostalgia and admiration for a simpler life.

Strand was a humanist with wide-ranged sympathies. He and other filmmakers organized a non-profit company to produce a series of pro-labor and anti-Fascist movies.

In the 1950s, because of the conservative political nature in the United States, Strand moved to Europe. He documented the impoverished communities as he went along Europe.

Strand travelled to photograph people in West and North Africa in the 1960s. His works became renowned and showed him as a pioneer of photography in the 20th century. He was seen as someone who was able to show the world the importance of art in the promotion of social change.

I like his style, which consists of many different shades of black and white. I wish that he considered more about the framing of the picture, and the position of the camera. I wish some parts of this peculiar picture weren’t shown, and I wish more of the scenery was shown. I think he was inspired by the X-ray scans he'd seen, and then became highly intrigued in the abstractedness of the shapes and forms of shadows.

             At the age of 85, Paul Strand died on March 31, 1976, in France.