Siskind was fascinated with surface textures like those achieved in Abstract Expressionism. The nature of the objects photographed in close-up is often impossible to make out. Siskind explained that 'when I make a photograph I want it to be an altogether new object, complete and self-contained'. In this close-up view, the subject matter has ceased to be of primary importance, as Siskind pursues the abstract possibilities of the photograph. Siskind's individualistic vision bore a strong conceptual relationship to abstract expressionist painting.