1

Vera

Mrs. Burakowski

CPA Photo & Digital Design

17 May 2017

Berenice Abbott

Berenice Abbott is remembered as one of the most independent, determined, and

respected photographers of the twentieth century. She recounted a lonely, unhappy childhood.

However, late in life, she attributed her storing characteristics of self-reliance, determination and

independence to her unfortunate childhood experiences (Berenice Abbott). Suppose we took a

thousand negatives and made a gigantic montage: a myriad-faceted picture the elegances, the

squalor, the curiosities, the monuments, the sad faces, the triumphant faces, the power, the irony,

the strength, the decay, the past, the present, the future of a city that would be my favorite

picture (Get the Picture: Berenice Abbott). This is the interpretation about herself. Sometimes,

someone without knowledge of photography or have no interest in photography may have a

chance in some places or because of some people, they will become a photographer (Berenice

Abbott). Berenice Abbott, her own life influences her photography works, and her photographs

come from her life.

Abbott born in Springfield, Ohio in 1898. She lived in Manhattan, New York and she

died in 1991 (Berenice Abbott). When Abbott worked in Europe in the 1920s, she was a

photographic assistant to Man Ray in Paris. Through her work printing Man Rays photographs,

she discovered herself talent as a photographer (Berenice Abbott - Bio). Both Man Ray and

Eune Atget influenced her, also she influenced Atget (Who Is Berenice Abbott? Everything

You Need to Know). She used distortion easel, auto pole, tripod, gadgets for camera, 8x10 inch
 2

view camera for her photography (Gerber). She was famous for her monochrome photography of

New York City architecture and urban designs of the 1930s (Who Is Berenice Abbott?

Everything You Need to Know).

This photo took in 1937. The medium were gelatin silver print, matte, double weight

paper; 8x10 inch untrammeled contact print ("William Goldberg, 771 Broadway, Manhattan"). In

this image, there is a big number 9 in the middle of the picture and 2 for 1 on the top of the

number 9. There are a lot of Goldberg around this number 9. All of these numbers are the

prices of the clothes. All the advertisements cover this store. The photographer stood in the

intersection and took this corner of the building. Social influences influenced this picture. It

reflected how the sellers sold their merchandises during that period of time. These kinds of

advertisements and price tags were the way they did. The way to sell merchandises caught her

eye, this was the way people did during that time. She tried to catch all the prices in a perfect

angle. She put the biggest price in the middle of the image. The most prominent thing can put in

the middle of the image. Also, try to get all the things we want to intend in this picture in the

same angles. She used shape in composition techniques. The buildings corner and the big

posters were all the shape she used in this image. She tried to emphasise the posters and this

corner of the store, building, and street (Composition Study).

 3

Fig.1. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of

Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography

Collection, The New York Public Library. "William

Goldberg, 771 Broadway,

Manhattan." The New York Public Library Digital

Collections. 1937.

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-

4f6b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

This photo took in 1936. The medium were gelatin silver print, matte, double weight

paper; 8x10 in. untrammeled contact print ("Rockefeller Center: Collegiate Church of St.

Nicholas in foreground, Fifth Avenue and 48th Street, Manhattan"). The Church is in the front.

On the right side of the church have some short buildings, in the back of the church us a under

construction building. In the back it stands the tallest white building. This image concentrate

with the number of the advertisements' prices, this one concentrates with buildings. Social and

historical influence influenced this picture. In the modern city, a historical church still stood in

the middle of the city. Behind this historical church, the new and tall buildings are building up.

New mansions were the products to advance this society, but the old architectures could let

people remember and see how this land change. Abbott stood across the street of the church and

found an angle include the church, short buildings, tall building, and the under construction

building. The buildings from different century can show this citys change. The citys change

caught her eye and the city might change more after a few years. We can find a position with
 4

different centurys building to portray a city. She used shape and rule of thirds in composition

techniques. She used rule of thirds to balance these buildings from front to back, low to high.

The abstract shapes in this image have various levels of depth. The left line of the church make a

perfect point of view in her picture (Composition Study).

Fig. 2. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of

Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography

Collection, The New York Public Library.

"Rockefeller Center: Collegiate Church of St.

Nicholas in foreground, Fifth Avenue and 48th

Street, Manhattan." The New York Public

Library Digital Collections. 1936.

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-

4f61-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

This photo took in 1936. The medium were silver Gelatin Print ("El', Second and Third

Avenue lines, Bowery and Division Sts., Manhattan"). This image happened under the subway.

There were two people stood in the front of the image. On the two sides of the images were

different stores. The second image described about the buildings, this one was about the people

and stores under the subway. Social influences influenced this picture. During this time, there

were not a lot of cars on the road under the subway lines. It meant not all of the citizens had

enough money to buy that kind of things, peoples average standard living quality was not very

high yet. So, people could walk very optionally on the road or by the side of the stores. I think

this was the reason why she took this picture, because might be after a few years people could
 5

not do like this anymore. Otherwise, population was low. In this image, two people stood in the

middle of the road and were chatting together. Sometimes, one or two prominent objects can

illustrate what you mean in the picture. Also, put this prominent object in the front of the image.

She used rule of thirds, subframing, and line in composition techniques. The vertical lines of the

subway pillars created bold statement. Those two people on the picture were small and

surrounded by the pillars. Also, the pillars created some points that could balance this image

(Composition Study).

Fig. 3. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of

Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography

Collection, The New York Public Library. "El',

Second and Third Avenue lines, Bowery

and Division Sts., Manhattan." The New York Public

Library Digital Collections. 1936.

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-

4f18-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

This photo took in 1936. The medium was silver gelatin print ("Court of first model

tenement house in New York, 72nd Street and First Avenue, Manhattan"). Large open courtyard

by tall tenement buildings with laundry hanged on the lines between buildings. This image

described the people who lived in the tenements and their life. The first three images were all in

the good part of the city, poor people could not live or appear in there. Social and environmental

influence influenced this picture. This was the life of the poor people. This was a kind of
 6

discriminate for these people. It reflected that these tenements with horrible environment were

appear in the bad part of the city normally. Abbott found a courtyard around by tall tenements.

The laundry hanged on the lines were the most effective details. Images can show peoples life.

She wanted more and more people to know how these people lived. She used negative space,

line, and subframing in composition techniques. This picture was all flat color. The pillar in the

middle was the major line in this image. Other objects such as buildings in the back and clothes

hanged on the rope were framing with the lines. So that small objects surrounded by details

(Composition Study).

Fig. 4. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of

Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography

Collection, The New York Public Library. "Court of

first model tenement house in New

York, 72nd Street and First Avenue, Manhattan."

The New York Public Library Digital

Collections. 1936.

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-

4f86-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

The photographs show and tell us photographer's thoughts and intentions. Her thoughts

and intentions derive from her own life. Her own life may live through something good or bad,

and this life experiences influence her in photography. Her childhood experiences showed in her

image and influenced her work that most of them were about the society. She usually found out

one or two prominent objects to describe the image's background meaning. I will learn the way
 7

how she determined the objects and also images can show our life and this society. Do not sat

no until you try it first.

 8

Works Cited

Berenice Abbott - Bio. Berenice Abbott - Bio,

www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/abbott-bio.htm. Accessed 24 Apr.

2017.

Berenice Abbott. International Photography Hall of Fame, iphf.org/inductees/berenice-abbott-

2/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.

Court of the First Model Tenement in New York City, 361-365 71st St., 1325-1343 First Ave.,

360-364 72nd St. National Museum of American History,

americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1321974. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.

Gerber, Louis. Berenice Abbott. Berenice Abbott,

www.cosmopolis.ch/english/cosmo30/berenice_abbott.htm. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.

Get the Picture: Berenice Abbott. Get the Picture: Berenice Abbott, archive.artsmia.org/get

the-picture/print/abbott.shtml. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.

Home. Composition Study, compositionstudy.com/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography

Collection, The New York Public Library. "Court of first model tenement house in New

York, 72nd Street and First Avenue, Manhattan." The New York Public Library Digital

Collections. 1936.

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-4f86-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography

Collection, The New York Public Library. "El', Second and Third Avenue lines, Bowery

and Division Sts., Manhattan." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1936.

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-4f18-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
 9

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography

Collection, The New York Public Library. "Rockefeller Center: Collegiate Church of St.

Nicholas in foreground, Fifth Avenue and 48th Street, Manhattan." The New York Public

Library Digital Collections. 1936.

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-4f61-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography

Collection, The New York Public Library. "William Goldberg, 771 Broadway,

Manhattan." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1937.

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-4f6b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Who Is Berenice Abbott? Everything You Need to Know. Childhood, Life Achievements &

Timeline, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/berenice-abbott-3380.php. Accessed 24

Apr. 2017.