Santa Cruz

Artist Roger Vail (American, born 1945)

Date1981

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall: 22 3/4 x 17 1/8 inches (57.79 x 43.5 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.4162

InscribedSignature Signed in artist's hand Front of Mount

On View

Not on view

Collections

Photography

Terms

Exhibition History

Night Light: a Survey of 20^th Century Night Photography, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, January 15 - February 12, 1989, The Fine Arts Center/Creekwood, Nashville, TN, February 26 - April 2, 1989, Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, Evansville, IN, April 23 - June 11, 1989, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, August 6 - September 24, 1989, Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, Roanoke, VA, February 18 - April 1, 1990, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE, April 29 - June 10, 1990, Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, Danville, VA, July 8 - August 26, 1990, The Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame, IN, September 23 - November 4, 1990, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, UT, December 1, 1990 – January 20, 1991, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA, February 12 - April 7, 1991.

Night Light: a Survey of 20^th Century Night Photography. Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland, November 5, 1991- January 12, 1992, no cat.

Night Light: a Survey of 20^th Century Night Photography. Missouri Western State College, October 5 - October 26, 1992, no cat.

Night Light: a Survey of 20^th Century Night Photography, Stephens College, Columbia, MO, January 18 - February 26, 1993, no cat.

Heavens: Photographs of the Sky & Cosmos. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, June 11 - November 13, 2011, no cat.

Gallery Label

Roger Vail is interested in night photography and the camera’s ability to transcend ordinary reality through the use of long exposures. Fascinated by the passage of time, he created this image over a three- hour period. The pathway of the moon, from low on the horizon to a position higher in the sky, is traced boldly here; through the mechanism of the camera, the moon’s imperceptibly gradual movement
is transformed into a dramatic upward streak. Over this long exposure, the moon’s reflection on the water is rendered silky smooth and ethereal, adding to the other-worldly quality of the image.

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