A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take an excursion to New York City for the day. I took a bus from Boston, which departed at 6 am. The ride was comfortable & with the free wifi that was provided, it a very pleasant journey. We arrived in Manhattan around 10:30 & I was able to get off the bus on 5th Ave., very near the Guggenheim Museum, where I was headed.
I had come to see the Francesca Woodman Exhibition.
March 16–June 13, 2012
This remarkable young woman, born into a family of artists in 1958, began her interest in photography at the early age of 13. By the time, of her tragic death, at age 22 in 1981, she had become a mature & focused artist. The exhibit spans the entirety of her short career, & includes more than 120 vintage photographs, ranging from her earliest student experiments to her late, large-scale blueprint studies of caryatid-like figures for the ambitious Temple project (1980).
The photographs are eerily beautiful. Using herself as a model, Woodman explored in particular the genre of self-portraiture. There is, of course, a sadness to the photos, knowing that this extraordinary talent would be lost to suicide at such a young age.
To learn more about Francesca Woodman, I recommend the documentary film TheWoodman's by C. Scott Willis.
How wonderful! I saw this documentary on PBS awhile back. Her photos are haunting- what a nice trip for you!
ReplyDeleteIt must be very interesting to see this exhibition ... The Guggenheim Museum is a place so legendary! When I went to New York (12 years ago), I haven't had time to see it... What a pity! I hope one day... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks you guys. It was a beautiful day, wish you could have come along.
ReplyDeletewhat an interesting photo exhibition. i love anything related to photography. thanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteHi Sally,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this - I had not heard of this talented photographer, or the exhibition. Her images are quite haunting.
It sounds as if you had a fun expedition to "the big city".
Marjorie
P.S. I have appreciated your thoughtful comments on my blog.
I saw Francescas documentary too....what an amazingly talented artist. How wonderful to have been able to see her exhibit!
ReplyDelete