Siskind, Aaron. Aaron Siskind and His Critics, 1946-1966. Signed by Carl Chiarenza.

Center for Creative Photography, Number 7/8, September 1978, University of Arizona. Includes "Siskind's Critics" by Carl Chiarenza and Siskind bibliography. Inscribed and SIGNED by Chiarenza, uncommon thus. Wraps, 47 pages, fine. Summary:

Aaron Siskind and His Critics, 1946–1966 is a scholarly monograph published in September 1978 as a special double issue (Number 7/8) of the Center for Creative Photography research journal by the University of Arizona.

The publication serves as an in-depth critical and visual retrospective of a pivotal twenty-year period in Aaron Siskind's career, tracking his transition from social documentary photographer to a pioneer of photographic abstraction.

The journal focuses on the following key components:

• A comprehensive research essay by art historian, critic, and photographer Professor Carl Chiarenza. He examines the mid-century critical reception of Siskind's work, detailing how contemporary art critics, curators, and the public reacted to Siskind's radical departure from traditional, literal photography toward an alignment with Abstract Expressionist painters.

• A curated selection of 21 high-quality, full-page black-and-white plates representing Siskind's iconic imagery from 1946 to 1966. These photographs emphasize his fascination with texture, form, and flat planes, featuring close-ups of peeling paint, graffiti, eroded stone, and isolated organic debris.

• An extensive research bibliography detailing Siskind’s exhibition history, critical reviews, articles, and monographs written during or about this foundational two-decade timeframe.

Spanning 47 pages in a softcover format, this double issue functions as both an exhibition-style portfolio and a crucial academic resource for understanding Siskind's enduring impact on the philosophy of modern fine art photography.

Note: On December 4, 1903, Aaron Siskind was born in New York City.  Siskind was a public school English teacher in New York for 25 years. In the 1930s, he became an active member of the Photo League, where he led a group of photographers to document Harlem. Subsequently, he turned to two-dimensional subject matter and became closely associated with Abstract Expressionist painters. After briefly teaching at Trenton Junior College (now Mercer County Community College) in New Jersey, Siskind joined Harry Callahan on the photography faculty at the Institute of Design in Chicago and later the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island.  Siskind died on February 8, 1991, in Providence.