About this artwork
Dozens of sharp nails penetrate a wood plank. Each spike casts a short shadow while a lone eye floats eerily above. Eyes were a favorite motif of Nathan Lerner, who incor-porated them into photographs that evoke fright and delight. Mentored at the New Bauhaus in Chicago (later the Institute of Design) by professors László Moholy-Nagy and György Kepes, Lerner developed the method used here, a process he called “montage without scissors.” He used a mirror with part of its reflective surface scratched off to combine images on a single negative without using multiple exposures.
-
Status
- Currently Off View
-
Department
- Photography and Media
-
Artist
- Nathan Lerner
-
Title
- Eye on Nails
-
Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
-
Date
- Made 1940
-
Medium
- Gelatin silver print
-
Dimensions
- Image: 25.5 × 21.3 cm (10 1/16 × 8 7/16 in.); Paper: H.: 35.8 cm (14 1/8 in.)
-
Credit Line
- Gift of David and Reva Logan
-
Reference Number
- 1991.1159
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
