Untitled [Mask and arrows on road]

Artist Ralph Eugene Meatyard (American, 1925 - 1972)

Date1964

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall: 7 x 7 1/8 inches (17.78 x 18.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Object number2005.27.1905

SignedSigned by photographer's widow, on mount verso, upper left corner, in blue pen: "Madelyn O. Meatyard".

InscribedNotation on mount verso, top left corner, in black pen: "38-A-64 , "in"; On mount verso, lower right, in pencil: "REM7".

Markingsnone

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DescriptionImage of mask on road with painted arrows.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

Ralph Eugene Meatyard’s highly unconventional style reflected his varied literary and philosophical interests. Beginning in the late 1950's, Meatyard used dime-store Halloween masks to create a heightened sense of ritual and ambiguity. Like Zen riddles, these photographs employ blatant contradictions and fictions to explore the mysteries of identity, memory and time. By combining real settings with unreal effects, Meatyard created a charged hybrid: a documentary fiction.

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