Following his service in World War I as chief of Allied aerial-reconnaissance photography, and prior to his highly successful career as chief photographer for Condé Nast magazines, Steichen experimented with giving abstract meanings to very literal photographs. The transparent bowl, floating planes, and elemental mineral substances of this picture evole an austere cosmos, while the locksmith's repertory of standard key profiles suggests the inadequacy of all codes, other than Einstein's, for unlocking the universe.
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Inscription: Inscribed in red wax pencil on print, recto at edges overall: [wavy lines all around print]; inscribed but scratched out on print, verso overall: "11 x 14 glossy // make prints both ways // 1 strong on glossy // 1 light [illegible] on semi matte // Time Space Continuum"; inscribed on print, verso UC: "TOP [underlined]", "TOP"; inscribed on print, verso UR [sideways]: "68 [encircled]"; inscribed on print, verso LR [sideways]: "Time Space Continuum // France c. 1920"; inscribed on print, verso LC: "note light // Edges all [illegible]"; inscribed on print, verso UL [upside down]: "20 // 2-6-15"
Grace M. Mayer to Waddell; John C. Waddell
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 23–December 31, 1989.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 28–April 22, 1990.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 10–July 15, 1990.
High Museum of Art. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 5–April 28, 1991.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. The Ford Motor Company Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 8–August 4, 1991.
IVAM, Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia. "The New Vision, IVAM, Centre Julio Gonzalez, Valencia," January 20, 1995–March 26, 1995.
Kunsthalle Bielefeld. "Abstract Photography," December 3, 2000–February 18, 2001.
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. "Abstract Photography," March 24, 2001–May 3, 2001.
Edward J. Steichen (American (born Luxembourg), Bivange 1879–1973 West Redding, Connecticut)
1902
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