The Great Buddha

Series TitleTen Thousand Li of the Yangze River

Artist Michael Cherney (American, born 1969)

Date2010-2012; printed 2015-2016

MediumInkjet print

DimensionsOverall: 10 11/16 × 103 inches (27.15 × 261.62 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: the Asian Art Acquisition Fund in memory of Laurence Sickman and gift of the artist

Object number2016.33.1-3

SignedOn the certificate

InscribedTitle on the label at the beginning of the scroll and on the lid of the box.

Edition/State/Proofed. 2/9

On View

Not on view

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionThis photoscroll consists of a photograph printed by inkjet printer on xuan paper. The photograph shows a stretch of the Yangtze River taken from the vantage point of The Great Buddha of Leshan (not visible), from which the title of the work is derived. The original photograph, taken using a Leica M6 camera would have included a much larger field. After scanning the negative, Cherney selected a relatively small detail, resulting in an image in which the large grain of the original negative is conspicuous, creating a misty effect. The image is mounted as a traditional Chinese handscroll. The label on the outside of the scroll was written by Tang Qingnian (wrote the characters “长江万里图”) and Wang Yimin (wrote the characters “大佛像”). The artist considers the mounting and wooden box to be an integral part of the work.

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