1.

A. Aaron Siskind purposely takes close-up photographs, meaning the photo has excellent clarity. Through this, we can infer that Aaron Siskind is trying to close on his pictures to enhance the emotions and perspectives towards the picture.

B. Aarons Siskind expresses his abstract photographs through a distinctive contrast, dark tones that provoke awkward and mysterious emotions, and a variety of shapes that cannot be clearly identified.

C. Aaron Siskind may be trying to express themes like sadness and loneliness by using colors like black and grey, which symbolize danger, and the patterns of the object, which provoke a puzzling and intimidating rhythm.

2. As a viewer of this photograph, I believe the suitable name of the photograph is “Broken”. As mentioned, the dark tones provoke dangerous emotions, the shattered object, and cracked surface convey mysterious and awkward feelings, and the rough texture from the cracks and friction of the surface provoke loneliness and separation. These factors contribute to titling the artwork “Broken.”

3. Aaron Siskind expresses his photographs through abstractness. In the image above, the distinctive colors and shapes of the shattered objects show a clear contrast between the grey surface. Aaron Siskind also shows distinctive contrast between objects and surfaces through the shadows and dark lines outlining the objects. The photograph’s tone is dark, setting an unpleasant and dark mood. The colors black and grey symbolize dangerous and lonely emotions, proving that the artist’s intention for the artwork is to provoke depressing emotions. Also, we can identify a rhythm expressed through the black objects and the cracked surface, conveying feelings of mystery and awkwardness. The photograph has a very closed-up perspective on the subject, which helps viewers understand the texture of the black objects. It looks smooth, but the surface looks rough; we can indicate it is rough because the surface has cracks and the surface has high friction. This provokes loneliness and separation.

“Aaron Siskind, Jerome, Arizona 21, 1949.” Bruce Silverstein, 2021, brucesilverstein.com/artists/34-aaron-siskind/series/modern-prints/12004-aaron-siskind-jerome-arizona-21-1949/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.