Sphinx
Series TitleExpeditions
Artist
Ruth Thorne-Thomsen
(American, born 1943)
Date1979
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 3 11/16 × 4 9/16 inches (9.37 × 11.59 cm)
Sheet: 4 1/4 × 5 1/16 inches (10.8 × 12.86 cm)
Mount: 4 1/4 × 5 1/16 inches (10.8 × 12.86 cm)
Sheet: 4 1/4 × 5 1/16 inches (10.8 × 12.86 cm)
Mount: 4 1/4 × 5 1/16 inches (10.8 × 12.86 cm)
Credit LineGift of the artist
Object number2012.38.63
SignedSigned and editioned on mount verso, lower right, in pencil "R. Thorne-Thomsen 19/25"
InscribedTitled, dated and editioned on mat recto, bottom, in pencil "SPHINX "EXPEDITIONS" 1979 19/25";
Stamp on mat verso, lower right, in black ink: "EXPEDITIONS".
MarkingsOn mount verso, lower left, in pencil: "91.1979"
none
Edition/State/Proofed. 19/25
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of a sphinx head with a figure seated on top and surrounded by sand and tiny palm trees.Gallery LabelRuth Thorne-Thomsen lifts the central compositional element of Maxime Du Camp’s iconic photograph Western Giant of the Speos of Phre and inserts it into her own fabricated scene. The unique optical qualities of her view derive from working with a pinhole camera. This simple apparatus renders subjects near and far with a similar degree of definition, thus confusing spatial depth and sense of scale. Though her scene is a complete fiction, it appears somewhat plausible, if mysterious, in its rendering.
Copyright© Ruth Thorne-Thomsen
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