About this artwork
Woodman has photographed herself at the very edge of the composition, emerging like a spirit from a shaft of light. The hanging clothes echo her body, seeming to hover with a life of their own. Alone and naked, Woodman appears vulnerable, underlined by the small and intimate format of the photograph. Her photographs explore issues of gender and self, looking at the representation of the body in relation to its surroundings. She usually puts herself in the frame, although these are not conventional self-portraits, since she is either partially hidden, or concealed by slow exposures that blur her moving figure into a surreal, ghostly presence. Woodman uses a mirror as a prop – it becomes a symbol of artistic self-reflexivity, reflecting the ‘eye’ of the camera back upon itself.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Francesca Woodman (1958 - 1981) American
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title:Untitled, Providence, Rhode Island
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date created:1975 - 1978
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materials:Gelatin silver print on paper
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measurements:10.90 x 10.90 cm (paper 25.20 x 20.20 cm) (framed: 45.80 x 40.20 x 2.00 cm)
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object type:
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credit line:ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
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accession number:AR00359
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Francesca Woodman
Francesca Woodman
Francesca Woodman’s photographs explore issues of gender and the self, looking at the representation of the body, and more specifically at how her own body relates to the world and her surroundings. Born in Denver, Colorado, Woodman studied at Rhode Island School of Design from 1975 to 1978,...