Art for society's sake: Paul Strand's photographic visions. (Volumes I and II).

摘要

In 1915 Paul Strand revolutionized photography by using modernist compositional strategies to illustrate vividly the psychological disjunctions wrought by modern urban society. In the process he solved a problem that had been haunting his associates--how to make art that was pertinent to contemporary life. This dissertation will analyze Strand's continuing effort to show how art could help illuminate society's condition and address its problems. After tracing his initial rise to fame, the author reviews five of Strand's subsequent projects, including three films, a mid-life museum retrospective, and a pioneering pictorial essay wherein he integrated his photographs with select passages to create an historical portrait of New England. In each case, Strand's specific concerns and goals will be treated, and his solutions assessed, keeping in mind his constant overriding vision of being recognized as an important artist-photographer.;"Art for society's sake" demonstrates that, contrary to the popular conception of Strand as champion of the single, ahistorically humanistic photograph, the artist often worked on multiple print studies wherein he used his art to address broad social and political concerns about creative freedom, civil liberties, and national community. Although the dissertation reveals Strand to have failed ultimately to clarify and popularize the social and political relevance of his modernist artistic visions, his sustained effort to combine art and political commentary provides valuable insight into his and his associates' efforts to influence modern society's self-understanding and direction.