Skip to Content

Gelatin Photograph 72, from the series "Gelatin Photographs"

A work made of gelatin silver print.
© James Welling. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London.

Image actions

  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1984

Artist:

James Welling
American, born 1951

About this artwork

Since the late 1970s, James Welling has been fascinated with the history of camera images and camera technologies. Although he is often associated with artists of the Pictures Generation, who have investigated photography as the broad basis for all visual representation in our time, Welling is also deeply interested in the specific history of photography and its most common elements—for example, gelatin. To make this image, Welling cooked batches of gelatin—the binder layer for gelatin silver prints, but also an ordinary food item—mixed with dark ink. After refrigerating the substance, he then arranged chunks of it onto areas of seamless background paper of the sort used by commercial product or studio portrait photographers. The final composition is highly self-reflexive, taking “the stuff” of photography literally and metaphorically.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

James Welling

Title

Gelatin Photograph 72, from the series "Gelatin Photographs"

Place

United States (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.

Made 1984

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image/paper: 20.3 × 25.4 cm (8 × 10 in.)

Credit Line

Photography Gala Fund

Reference Number

2014.95

Copyright

© James Welling. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London.

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.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share