Woods 431

Artist Carl Chiarenza (b. 1935 Rochester NY (active Boston MA))

Date1983

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 15 3/8 × 13 5/8 in. (39.1 × 34.6 cm)
Support: 16 5/8 × 13 5/8 in. (42.2 × 34.6 cm)
Mat: 21 × 17 7/8 in. (53.3 × 45.4 cm)

ClassificationsPhotograph

Credit LineGift of Carl Chiarenza, 2021

Object number2022.5.4

DescriptionVertical composition with dark surface cleaved by three vertical lines. At left third of composition, a textured vertical line extends from near top left corner down to bottom of frame, appearing like a dimensional form with a curved edge. Abutting it is a dark space that appears like blank space, a gap, an abyss. Abutting it to the right is another edge with a slight curve at top. To the right of that is a large line that appears like a crease.
eMuseum Notes

Emuseum Notes

The title of this photograph, Woods 431, gives us a reference point for Chiarenza’s composition although his photographs are meant to evoke rather than mirror a sense of place. Instead of using his camera to give us a picture of an existing woods, the artist composes small collages of scrap paper on his copy stand and then photographs them, seeking to draw viewers into a new experience that is not dependent on any existing reality. The play of light, meticulously calibrated by the artist, is a key element in this expression. Here the alternating textures and rhythms of the vertical elements can be appreciated on their own terms, rather than in reference to an external reality.

On View

Not on view