Untitled
Photograph
1994 (made)
1994 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Adam Fuss was born in Britain and lives and works in New York. Having worked as a commercial photographer, he is conscious of what he calls "the pervasive technological- consumerist culture". In response to this, along with other artists of his generation such as Garry Fabian Miller and Susan Derges, he has returned to the simplest photographic means: photography without the use of a camera. Such procedures recall the earliest photographs of the 1830s and 1840s. This work was inspired by Fuss' visit to a Shaker community where he was impressed with their hand-built ladders. It also references William Blake's work 'I want, I want' showing a figure holding a ladder up to the stars, as well as the famous ladder in Henry Fox Talbot's 'The Haystack'. Imbued with a poignant sensibility, or the implication of transcendent aspirations, Fuss' works resound with metaphysical meaning.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver print photogram |
| Brief description | Photograph, photogram of a silver-coloured ladder on a white background, 'Untitled', from the series 'In Between', Adam Fuss, USA, 1994. |
| Physical description | A mounted and framed photogram of a ladder by Adam Fuss. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Gallery label | Working for a time among the members of a Shaker community, Fuss was inspired by their hand-built ladders. Set against a bright, dematerialized background, the rungs of Fuss's photogram equivalent shimmer with a look of oxidized silver. For Fuss, the ladder is much more than a practical tool: it is an emblem of aspiration. Like the ladder of Jacob's dream in the Book of Genesis, it is the route via which angels ascend and descend. It also provides a means of moving away from Earth towards the cosmos, into the 'in between' space of the title of the series from which the work is taken. |
| Credit line | Gift of the artist, through the generosity of Pierre Brahm |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Adam Fuss was born in Britain and lives and works in New York. Having worked as a commercial photographer, he is conscious of what he calls "the pervasive technological- consumerist culture". In response to this, along with other artists of his generation such as Garry Fabian Miller and Susan Derges, he has returned to the simplest photographic means: photography without the use of a camera. Such procedures recall the earliest photographs of the 1830s and 1840s. This work was inspired by Fuss' visit to a Shaker community where he was impressed with their hand-built ladders. It also references William Blake's work 'I want, I want' showing a figure holding a ladder up to the stars, as well as the famous ladder in Henry Fox Talbot's 'The Haystack'. Imbued with a poignant sensibility, or the implication of transcendent aspirations, Fuss' works resound with metaphysical meaning. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.860-2010 |
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| Record created | August 4, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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