Fireflies

Artist Keith Carter (American, born 1948)

Date1992

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 15 x 15 inches (38.1 x 38.1 cm)
Framed: 24 x 23 7/8 inches (60.96 x 60.64 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.3926

InscribedSignature Signed in artist's hand Back of Print

Edition/State/Proof23/50

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

DescriptionGelatin silver print of children catching fireflies in a jar. Signature on back of print.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

New Frontiers: American Photography Since 1960. Light Factory, Charlotte, NC, November 5 - December 17, 1993, no cat.

Hide & Seek: Picturing Childhood. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, September 26, 2009 – February 21, 2010, no cat.

Gallery Label

Keith Carter's lush printing techniques and adept manipulation of focus transforms otherwise mundane subjects into visual metaphors that connect with deep memories of childhood. The two boys in this photograph are seen only as shadowy silhouettes. The common act of capturing fireflies becomes, in Carter's vision, a magical ritual steeped in mystery and wonder.

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