Camera Work: A Photographic Quarterly (1904 (Heft 6))

exhibit of three hundred frames is of a superior kind, masterpieces, of
course, being as scarce here as everywhere.
Nearly all of the pictures contained some artistic note that lifted them
above the commonplace. The exhibition was national in its character,
fifty-four photographers being represented. Only Day, Lee, Maurer, and
Genthe, for some reason or another, could or would not participate. The
large bulk of the exhibit was by the members of the Secession.
Photo-Secession! The outsider is generally startled at the name; he
does not know the exact meaning of the word nor in what way it is applied
to this class of energetic and enthusiastic workers. People wonder what
the Secessionists really want, and yet their aim is such a simple one.
They want to be artistic, that is all. They want to see their work classed as
an art; but this is only a secondary consideration, as recognition can not be
forced; it must come by itself. Their first and last aim is to do artistic work.
Why, then, all this mockery, noise, and opposition ? Because it is a
fight, after all. It is a fight of modern ideas against tradition, or, more
modestly expressed, a fight for a new technique. I am convinced that the
better class of photographers also want to be artistic, not quite as much as
the Secessionists, but to their best understanding. The whole trouble is
that the two parties can’t agree on the mediums of expression. It is a fight
about conception, theory, and temperament. And the Secessionists, even
if they accomplish nothing but the improvement of the average standard of
photographic work, will remain victors, because they are more sincere and
are willing to sacrifice everything to reach their end.
It sometimes seems to me as if this fight were not at all about
esthetics, as the Secessionists seem willing to accept almost anything, so long
as it contains a spark of artistic merit. They object only to such commer-
cial work as is produced for no other purpose than to suit a sitter or a
publisher. They wish to be independent artists and not time-pleasing
speculators. That was really the cause of their revolt. And the Secession
was created for no other purpose than to foster and cultivate this genuine
art feeling, which must be found at the root of every work of art.
The best which the exhibition had to offer, and so far as my personal
feelings are concerned the best which the Secession has produced, are the
prints of Steichen. None can deny his power. He stands in a class by
himself. That which he shows us is not always photography, but it
invariably belongs to the domain of art. He sacrifices everything to
painter-like qualities and conception as well as treatment, and with aston-
ishing precision he realizes the ideas which he wishes to convey. Like a
highwayman he lies in wait for beauty, seizes her and drags her away as she
passes. He steps straight into her path and, like an Espada whose reputa-
tion would be lost had he to make a second thrust, he settles the whole
question with one clever stroke. To him life is a sojourn in darkness,
illuminated by innumerable streaks of lightning. These he tries to grasp.
Every object he endeavors to imbue with beauty, and even the simplest, a
vessel or a branch of flowers, sets him to dreaming about some big artistic
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