Straight Photography

Pictorialism

Uta Barth

Andreas Gursky

  1. Straight photography emerged in the early 1900s. The style is characterized by using a very sharp focus and not changing anything about the original image. This style influenced abstract photographers such as Edward Weston and Aaron Siskind. Both of these photographers, because of their time period, used black-and-white photography. Edward Weston is probably best known for his still lives. These photos often depict vegetables or fruits, calling attention to the shapes and patterns that often go unnoticed. His photos use the same sharp focus, making the subjects stand out against the often black background. Weston’s photos don’t change from what the camera sees to what gets presented. Aaron Siskind took similar photos, usually featuring unique textures from places all around the world. These textures are emphasized by the stark contrast that sharp focus can lend a piece. His photos are also black and white, so the only focus of the image is the texture and it looks less like something from our world.
  2. We’ve established that abstract photography is making photos in which the subject isn’t the most interesting element. Uta Barth and Andreas Gursky are both abstract photographers. Uta Barth has made photos that show light from windows or blurry images of cityscapes. Both of these, as well as other kinds of photos Barth has taken, depict completely ordinary things, but with the help of someone seeing what beauty they have or could have, they became art. Her photos aren’t straight photography, most noticeably because they are often blurry or otherwise have soft transitions. They are also separate from Pictorialist photos, lacking that signature brush stroke touch. Andreas Gursky is known for his photos of stock exchanges around the world, as well as pictures he later touched up in Photoshop, removing undesirable elements or emphasizing desirable ones. While most of his photos are clearly focused, he is not a Straight Photographer because of the way he changes his photos after he takes them. Nor is he a Pictorialist, for the same reason as Barth.

Works Cited:

Siskind, Aaron “Jerome, Arizona, #21” Photograph. Artsy.net. 2025. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/aaron-siskind-jerome-arizona-number-21, Accessed Feb 7 2025

Kuhn, Heinrich “Mary Warner a contre-jour” Photograph. Wikiart.org. https://www.wikiart.org/en/artists-by-art-movement/pictorialism#!#resultType:masonry, Accessed Feb 7 2025

Barth, Uta “Field #23” Photograph. Guggenheim.org. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/uta-barth, Accessed Feb 7 2025

Gursky, Andreas “Amazon” Photograph. The Broad.