Edward Steichen, Drizzle on 40th Street, NY, (1925)

Story by Vivian Chen // Filed under Sight and Sound

Rainy days—
coasting down the highway in the driver’s seat, observing the sea of blurry red car lights and warm street lamps—the haze of the city, the irregular patterned raindrops on the car windows, playing the “let’s race down the window” game…

My initial impression of the photograph stemmed from memories of past car rides that immediately flooded my mind. The picture was simple, yet that was the beauty of it. Steichen, taking a basic theme, captures the realistic yet imaginative idea of a “rainy day.” It also parallels the late nights where only street lights are visible along with the disappearance of the house lights. Despite the age of this photo, even after almost a century later, it is still a scenery we are able to relate to.

The title of the photograph, “1925 Drizzle on 40th Street, NY” reveals exactly what is shown: a picture of 40th Street, New York on a rainy night in 1925. However, instead of going with “rainy day,” he picks “drizzle” which reflects the mood of the picture. While “rainy day” evokes a negative connotation as many people associate rain with traffic and accidents, “drizzle” is calming and provides a sense of tranquility.

“I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself…” Edward Steichen

Edward Steichen, born as Éduard Jean Steichen in Luxembourg on March 27, 1879, began his career as a painter. Thus, his photographs have a hint of artistic touch. Steichen began his photography career when he bought his first camera in 1895; it was a secondhand Kodak box “defective” camera. Eventually, he would direct two shows: The Road to Victory and Power in the Pacific. He became the director of the Photography Department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York; in January 1955, while working at the MOMA, he ended up assembling what would become one of the most famous photographic exhibition of all time, The Family of Man. The exhibit toured for eight years and holds the record for the highest attendance of any exhibition. He was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum’s Advisory Board.

Description of the Photograph
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The detailing in the photograph is astonishing. Despite the overwhelming number lights, you are still able to view all the signs on buildings and the breathtaking background–the skyline of the city. The artwork itself is mostly dark, utilizing shadows to emphasize the white lights, allowing them to emit a mysterious glow. It provides a contrast between the muted buildings, making it hard to focus on the background initially—especially at the bottom where complete darkness resides. This shadow provides a sense of “unknown” or something left out purposely. It forces us to use our imagination to fill the void; it also emits the presence of an never-ending abyss except for the existence of one vertical light, the largest and most prominent one out of the numerous lights above it.The photograph in general provides a very “elongated” feeling. Every light is stretched out and the buildings along with the silhouette are also blurred vertically. The lights are placed in a vertical slant path upwards–giving us a sense of direction without showing us the actual road. In a city we are so familiar with, this photo opens us to an unmapped part of our home. We are unable to tell what is leading down nor up the path—the only clue we have is the city skyline. Clashing with the darkness, it is much lighter at the top of the photo which forces the audience to notice the city skyline. This lighter gray is achieved due to the presence of a fog looming over the city; it provides an additional highlight to the picture in addition to the dark night. The moon is not visible and the only lights illuminating the entire scene are billboards and streetlights. Surprisingly, the building windows are also dark, further enhancing a sense of loneliness.

“In photography there are no shadows that cannot be illuminated.” August Sander

New York City—”the city that never sleeps.” Yet, this picture contrasts this statement. I’d like to argue that yes, New York City is in fact a city that does sleep. Maybe not for long, but moments of quiet and serenity are not impossible. When one views this photograph, they are reminded of the daily life and the beauty in simplicity. Us, New Yorkers often take advantage and forget about the breathtaking beauty that is around us every breathing moment of our lives. Distractions such as the sounds of the constant banter of cars, peoples conversations, and background noises exist, but this photograph by Edward Steichen serves as a reminder that for a living and breathing city like New York, it is not always about the bustling chatter of life.

Sources used:

https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/edward-steichen?all/all/all/all/0
https://www.moma.org/artists/5623
http://www.thecityreview.com/steichen.html
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/stei/hd_stei.htm

The Macaulay Honors Seminar 1: Arts of NYC has truly been an eye-opening experience. In this semester, I attended my first Broadway musical, play, and opera. Not only did these new experiences deepen my connection with the city, it engraved and permanently established a place in my heart. Before this course, being someone who’s lived in Queens their whole life, if you asked me what there was to do in the city, I would’ve said, “Eat. Eat. Eat.” Sadly, that’s all I did in the past eighteen years of my life. The diversity in regards to cuisine is surreal in the city, but we often overlook the less mainstream aspects. We forget about the museums, monuments, parks, theaters, and so much more.

We focus on Broadway, but we forget about off-broadway.
We focus on Central Park, but we forget about Inwood Hill Park.
We focus on the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but forget about the Copper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum…

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My version of the “Arts in NYC” revolves around everything I see whenever I roam the streets, the lessons and concepts I absorb from the different theatrical performances I’ve attended, and the artistic people I interact with..

So many hidden gems, yet so little time.
I am glad to have the opportunity to expand my roots into a place I can call “home.”
I am thrilled to continue the journey to uncover my version of this mysteriously fusion of culture.
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Edward Steichen, Drizzle on 40th Street, NY, (1925)

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