Portrait of Something that I'll Never Really See
Photograph
1997 (photographed)
1997 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Gavin Turk began his career as an artist by exhibiting a blue heritage memorial plaque in his studio at the Royal College of Art, which said "Gavin Turk worked here, 1989-1991". He has subsequently made work which questions the value and integrity of a coherent artistic identity. Turk does this with wit and economy, by paraphrasing already well-known works of art from the recent past. He also examines what the paraphernalia of 'genius' consists of - a signature; an identifiable style; a marketable identity.
In this wittily titled self portrait, Turk, represented with his eyes closed, plays with the notion of self portraiture. The scale and 'photographic' qualities of this piece bring in to question the style of contemporary portraiture, in particular the work of German photographers such as Thomas Struth and Thomas Ruff. Like much of Turk's work, this photograph is self-referential and focuses on the presentation of the artist persona.
In this wittily titled self portrait, Turk, represented with his eyes closed, plays with the notion of self portraiture. The scale and 'photographic' qualities of this piece bring in to question the style of contemporary portraiture, in particular the work of German photographers such as Thomas Struth and Thomas Ruff. Like much of Turk's work, this photograph is self-referential and focuses on the presentation of the artist persona.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Portrait of Something that I'll Never Really See (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | C-type colour print |
| Brief description | Turk, Gavin. "Portrait of Something That I'll Never Really See" 1997. C-type colour print. |
| Physical description | C-type colour photograph of Gavin Turk. A self-portrait of the artist. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Copyright Gavin Turk / Anthony Oliver |
| Object history | Portrait of Something I'll Never Really See by Gavin Turk. The self-portrait showing Turk's face with his eyes closed is against a white backdrop. |
| Summary | Gavin Turk began his career as an artist by exhibiting a blue heritage memorial plaque in his studio at the Royal College of Art, which said "Gavin Turk worked here, 1989-1991". He has subsequently made work which questions the value and integrity of a coherent artistic identity. Turk does this with wit and economy, by paraphrasing already well-known works of art from the recent past. He also examines what the paraphernalia of 'genius' consists of - a signature; an identifiable style; a marketable identity. In this wittily titled self portrait, Turk, represented with his eyes closed, plays with the notion of self portraiture. The scale and 'photographic' qualities of this piece bring in to question the style of contemporary portraiture, in particular the work of German photographers such as Thomas Struth and Thomas Ruff. Like much of Turk's work, this photograph is self-referential and focuses on the presentation of the artist persona. |
| Bibliographic reference | Catalogue: Silver and Syrup: Selections from the History of Photography exhibition |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.481-1998 |
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| Record created | August 1, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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