Ralph Steiner (February 8, 1899 – July 13, 1986) was an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

, pioneer documentarian and a key figure among avant-garde filmmakers in the 1930s.

Photographer

Born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Steiner studied chemistry at Dartmouth, but in 1921 entered the

Clarence H. White Clarence Hudson White (April 8, 1871 – July 8, 1925) was an American photographer, teacher and a founding member of the Photo-Secession movement. He grew up in small towns in Ohio, where his primary influences were his family and the social l ...

School of Modern Photography. White helped Steiner in finding a job at the Manhattan Photogravure Company, and Steiner worked on making

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

plates of scenes from

Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, ''Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputatio ...

's 1922 ''

Nanook of the North ''Nanook of the North'' is a 1922 American silent film which combines elements of documentary and docudrama, at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not yet exist. In the tradition of what would later be c ...

''. Not long after, Steiner's work as a freelance photographer in New York began, working mostly in advertising and for publications like ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

''. With fellow graduate

Anton Bruehl Anton Bruehl (11 March 1900 – 10 August 1982), was an Australian-born American fashion photographer. Anton Bruehl was born in Hawker, Australia, in 1900, the son of German immigrants. In 1919 he moved to the United States to work as an electrica ...

(1900–1982), in 1925, they opened a studio on 47th Street, producing a narrative series of amusing table-top shots of three cut‑out figures dressed in suits for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine; advertisements for Weber and Heilbroner menswear in a running weekly series. Their client was wiped out in the

Wall Street Crash The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

. Through the encouragement of fellow photographer

Paul Strand Paul Strand (October 16, 1890 – March 31, 1976) was an American photographer and filmmaker who, along with fellow modernist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century. ...

, Steiner joined the left-of-center '' Film and Photo League'' around 1927. He was also to influence the photography of

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

, giving him guidance, technical assistance, and one of his view cameras.

Filmmaker

In 1929, Steiner made his first film, ''

H2O Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

'', a poetic evocation of water that captured the abstract patterns generated by waves. Although it was not the only film of its kind at the time –

Joris Ivens Georg Henri Anton "Joris" Ivens (18 November 1898 – 28 June 1989) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker. Among the notable films he directed or co-directed are '' A Tale of the Wind'', '' The Spanish Earth'', ''Rain'', ''...A Valparaiso'', ''M ...

made ''Regen (Rain)'' that same year, and Henwar Rodakiewicz worked on his similar film ''Portrait of a Young Man (1931)'' through this whole period – it made a significant impression in its day and since has become recognized as a classic: ''H2O'' was added to the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

in December 2005. Among Steiner's other early films, ''Surf and Seaweed'' (1931) expands on the concept of ''H2O'' as Steiner turns his camera to the shoreline; ''Mechanical Principles'' (1930) was an abstraction based on gears and machinery. In 1930, Steiner joined the faculty of the so-called Harry Alan Potamkin Film School, which folded shortly before Potamkin's death in 1933; there he met

Leo Hurwitz Leo Hurwitz (June 23, 1909 – January 18, 1991) was an American documentary filmmaker. Among the films he directed were '' Native Land'' (1942) and ''Verdict for Tomorrow'' (1961), the Emmy Award- and Peabody Award-winning film of the Eichman ...

and, inspired by Hurwitz' ideas of utilizing film as a means of social action, left the Film and Photo League and joined ''Nykino'', a loose coalition of New York-based cinematographers who pooled footage for use in left-wing newsreels shown at worker's rallies, conventions and during strikes. Precious few of these films have survived, most being destroyed in a warehouse fire in 1935. During this time Steiner also worked on some topical, fictional "pool" film satires, including ''Pie in the Sky'' (1935), the earliest film to involve the talents of

Elia Kazan Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...

. Steiner spent summers at the

Pine Brook Country Club Pine Brook Country Club is a private lake association in Nichols, Connecticut, a village within the Town of Trumbull. It began when Benjamin Plotkin purchased Pinewood Lake and the surrounding countryside on Mischa Hill. Plotkin built an auditor ...

located in the countryside of

Nichols, Connecticut Nichols, a historic village in southeastern Trumbull in Fairfield County, Connecticut, is named after the family who maintained a large farm in its center for almost 300 years. The Nichols Farms Historic District, which encompasses part of t ...

, which became the summer rehearsal headquarters of the

Group Theatre (New York) The Group Theatre was a theater collective based in New York City and formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg. It was intended as a base for the kind of theatre they and their colleagues believed in— a forceful, n ...

working with

Felicia Sorel Felicia Sorel (September 28, 1903 – September 7, 1972) was a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator, based in New York City. Early life and education Sorel was raised in Brooklyn Heights; her father was a physician, and her mother taught ...

and

Gluck Sandor Gluck Sandor (1899–1978), aka Senia Gluck-Sandor, was an American artist, dancer, director, producer, actor, mime and teacher. He made his stage debut in the Met Opera production of Le Coq d'Or in 1918, and continued to choreograph, dance, and ...

among others. Steiner worked, alongside Strand, Hurwitz and

Paul Ivano Paul Ivano, ASC (May 13, 1900 – April 9, 1984), was a Serbian– French–American cinematographer whose career stretched from 1920 into the late 1960s. Born Paul Ivano Ivanichevitch, to Serbian parents in Nice, France, he served for two years ...

as a cinematographer on

Pare Lorentz Pare Lorentz (December 11, 1905 – March 4, 1992) was an American filmmaker known for his film work about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia he was educated at Buckhannon High School, West Virginia Wesl ...

' ''The Plow That Broke the Plains'' (

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

) and likewise joined Lorentz on ''The River'' (

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

) but did not receive credit. Although Steiner remained with Nykino throughout their transition into Frontier Films, he left in 1938, taking the footage of '' The City'' (1939) with him. ''The City'', which Steiner co-directed with

Willard Van Dyke Willard Van Dyke (December 5, 1906 – January 23, 1986) was an American filmmaker, photographer, arts administrator, teacher, and former director of the film department at the Museum of Modern Art.http://www.moma.org/docs/press_archives/6278/rel ...

and featuring original music by

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

, opened at the New York World's Fair in 1939 and ran for two years. Henwar Rodakiewicz moved from Los Angeles in August, 1938 to assist Steiner in the production of The City, contributing his editing, writing, and organizational skills to the project. Despite his own stated disdain of Hollywood and the shared sentiments of his colleagues, in the 1940s Steiner went to Hollywood to work as a writer-producer, but returned to New York after only four years spent there. Then he plunged back into the world of freelance and fashion photography, working for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', '' Look Magazine'' and others before retiring in 1962. Steiner then settled in Vermont, where he spent summers on a Maine island.

Late films

After a lengthy break from filmmaking, Steiner resumed the activity on a private basis, creating eight films between 1960 and 1975 grouped under an umbrella title, "''The Joy of Seeing''." According to Scott MacDonald, these films are marred by inappropriate soundtracks and compromised by Steiner's own desire to avoid artistic pretension at all costs, yet "contain much of Steiner's most beautiful and memorable imagery."

Nathaniel Dorsky Nathaniel Dorsky (born 1943 in New York City), is an American experimental filmmaker and film editor who has been making films since 1963. He attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio where he developed his interest in filmmaking. He won a ...

, who helped edit Steiner's later films, stated that Steiner "didn't want to make anything fancy but was an old man who appreciated life itself and wanted his film to simply show the special magic there was in our visual world in the most ordinary circumstances."

Legacy

Steiner's still photographs are notable for their odd angles, abstraction and sometimes bizarre subject matter; the 1944 image Gypsy Rose Lee and Her Girls is sometimes mistaken for

Weegee Arthur (Usher) Fellig (June 12, 1899 – December 26, 1968), known by his pseudonym Weegee, was a photography, photographer and photojournalism, photojournalist, known for his stark black and white street photography in New York City. Weegee w ...

. His experimental films, however, are considered central to the literature of early American avant-garde cinema, and the influence of Ralph Steiner's visual style continues to assert itself; for example, contemporary avant-garde filmmaker Timoleon Wilkins cites Steiner as an inspiration. In his appreciation of Steiner, author Scott McDonald expands that list to include Dorsky,

Andrew Noren Andrew Noren (1943–May 2, 2015) was an American avant-garde filmmaker. Biography Andrew Noren was born 1943 in Santa Fe, New Mexico and grew up in Southern California. Noren moved to New York in the mid 1960s, where he worked as an editor at AB ...

Larry Gottheim Larry Gottheim (born 1936) is an American avant-garde filmmaker. Early life Gottheim was born December 3, 1936. He attended a high school for music and the arts. Gottheim went to Oberlin College for undergraduate studies, where he became interes ...

and Peter Hutton.Scott McDonald – "Ralph Steiner" in Jan-Christoper Horak, ed., Lovers of Cinema: the first American film avant-garde, 1919-1945. University of Wisconsin Press, 1998 The links between the first generation of American avant-garde filmmakers such as Steiner with the second – exemplified by

Maya Deren Maya Deren (born Eleonora Derenkowska, uk, Елеоно́ра Деренко́вська, links=no;

Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage ( ; January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003) was an American filmmaker. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century experimental film. Over the course of five decades, Brakhage created a large ...

and others – are few, but Steiner is among those who managed to bridge the gap.

Filmography

*''

'' (1929; cinematographer/director) *''Mechanical Principles'' (1930; cinematographer/director) *''Surf and Seaweed'' (1931; cinematographer/director) *''Panther Woman of the Needle Trades, or The Lovely Life of Little Lisa'' (1931; cinematographer/director) *''May Day in New York'' (1931; cinematographer/co-director) *''Dance Film'' (1931; cinematographer/director) *''Harbor Scenes'' (1932; cinematographer/director) *''Granite, a.k.a. The Quarry'' (1932; cinematographer/director) *''G-3'' (1933; cinematographer/director) *''Café Universal'' (1934; cinematographer/director) *''Hands'' (1934; cinematographer/co-director) *''Pie in the Sky'' (1935; cinematographer/co-director) *''The People's March of Time'' (1935; cinematographer/co-director) *''The World Today: Black Legion'' (1936; cinematographer/co-director) *''The World Today: Sunnyside'' (1936; cinematographer/co-director) *''

The Plow That Broke the Plains ''The Plow That Broke the Plains'' is a 1936 short documentary film that shows the cultivation of the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada following the Civil War and leading up to the Dust Bowl as a result of farmers' exploitati ...

'' (1936; cinematographer) *''

People of the Cumberland ''People of the Cumberland'' is a 1937 short film directed by Sidney Meyers and Jay Leyda and produced by Frontier Films. The film is designed to support the U.S. labor union movement and it mixes non-fiction filmmaking and dramatic re-enactions ...

'' (1938; cinematographer) *'' The River'' (1938; cinematographer) *'' The City'' (1939; cinematographer/co-director) *''New Hampshire Heritage'' (1940; cinematographer/director) *''Youth Gets a Break'' (1941; cinematographer) *''Troop Train'' (1942; cinematographer/director) *''The Joy of Seeing'' (1960-1975; cinematographer/director), includes: *''Seaweed, a Seduction'' (1960) *''One Man's Island'' (1969) *''Glory, Glory'' (1971) *''A Look at Laundry'' (1971) *''Beyond Niagara'' (1973) *''Look Park'' (1974) *''Hooray for Light!'' (1975) *''Showdown'' (1975)

Notes

* Joel Stewart Zukor. ''Ralph Steiner: Filmmaker and Still Photographer''. Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, New York University, New York University, 1976. * Scott McDonald. "Ralph Steiner" in Jan-Christoper Horak, ed., ''Lovers of Cinema: the first American film avant-garde, 1919-1945''. University of Wisconsin Press, 1998.

External links

Bio from "New Frontiers in American Documentary Film" by Nicole Huffman, University of Virginia
*
Getty Museum Bio, with reproduction of "Gypsy & Her Girls"MOMA Collection Page for Ralph Steiner
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Ralph 1899 births 1986 deaths American experimental filmmakers People from Orange County, Vermont American documentary filmmakers Photographers from Ohio Photographers from Vermont