Symbols of Progress

Florence Kemmler

ca. 1929 · Gelatin silver print · Photographs

Associated with the turn-of-the-century movement known as Pictorialism, in which photographers created softly focused, ethereal depictions of human figures and landscapes, Kemmler was one of many photographers who changed course to embrace the Machine Age. This photograph connects industrialism with progress and evokes a triumphant, even utopian—if rather impersonal—state of existence. Symbols of Progress celebrates the stark, sleek elegance of industrially produced forms, while its low vantage point accentuates their powerful reach toward the sky like cathedral spires.

Artist

Florence Kemmler

Date

ca. 1929

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987