The Essence of 291
In 1914 Stieglitz published a series of responses to the question "What is 291?" in an issue of Camera Work. Here are some the those writings:
Eugene Meyer responded with a free-form poem. To him 291 represented:
- ”An oasis of real freedom
- A sturdy Islet of enduring independence in the besetting seas of Commercialism and Convention
- A rest – when wearied
- A stimulant – when dulled
- A Relief
- A Negation of Preconceptions
- A Forum for Wisdom and for Folly
- A Safety valve for repressed ideas
- An Eye Opener
- A Test—
- A Solvent
- A Victim and an Avenger"
J. B. Kerfoot: "291 is greater than the sum of all its definitions. For it is a living force, working for both good and evil. To me, 291 has meant an intellectual antidote to the nineteenth century...":
William Zorach: "I have visited 291 very often and to me it is a wonderful living place palpitating with red blood - a place to which people bring their finest and that brings out the finest that is within all those that come into actual contact with it."
Marsden Hartley: "A pure instrument is certainly sure to give forth pure sound. So has this instrument of 291 kept itself pure as possible that it thereby gives out pure expression."
Read more about this topic: 291 (art Gallery)
Famous quotes containing the word essence:
“It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)