About this artwork
This pile of photographs, featuring images of night skies and ocean surfaces, are examples of the source materials Celmins uses as the basis of her intense monochromatic images. These images focus on small and individual specks in the context of vastness. Celmins's serial exploration of her subjects allows the artist to exploit the distinct characteristics of the variety of media she uses. The images seem fragile because they record a specific human glimpse through a camera which is ephemeral and frozen in time.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Vija Celmins (born 1938) American
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title:Untitled (Source Materials)
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date created:1999
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materials:Iris print on paper
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measurements:35.70 x 30.90 cm (paper 75.90 x 55.70 cm): Framed: 79.70 x 59.50 x 3.70 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:AR00472
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gallery:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Vija Celmins
Vija Celmins
Born in Latvia in 1938, Celmins and her family emigrated to the United States in 1948. Although beginning her career as an Abstract Expressionist painter, she is now best known for her intricate, monochromatic drawings of a select range of subjects. In 1966 she began to use photographs as the...
