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Picture Made by My Hand with the Assistance of Light

A work made of gelatin silver print.

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

2011

Artist:

Walead Beshty
English, born 1976

About this artwork

In a practice ranging from photography to sculpture to installation, Walead Beshty makes self-reflexive works with structures that are firmly rooted in their own material properties. In 2006, he began a series of large photograms (photographs made without a camera) called Pictures Made by My Hand with the Assistance of Light. Handling an unwieldy stretch of paper sized just to the reach of his arms, Beshty crumpled, folded, and otherwise manipulated his material in the darkroom while selectively exposing it to light. The resulting patterns are random, beautiful, and transparently expressive of the artist’s considerable physical effort. Photographic materials and procedures are specific elements to be borne in mind by the viewer. In keeping with his emphasis on revelation and physical presence, Beshty dates all his works with this title to the year of their first public presentation, which in this case took place in 2011.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Walead Beshty

Title

Picture Made by My Hand with the Assistance of Light

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Exhibited 2011

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

244 × 141.4 cm (96 1/8 × 55 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon

Reference Number

2015.709

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.

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