About the Work
"I have photographed the female figure for many years and for many reasons. Any idea I was examining in my work at the time, be it Cubism, Surrealism, Minimalism, eroticism, etc., would be reflected in the shapes of the body. One of the very earliest known works of art is the Venus of Willendorf, ca. 25,000 B.C. It is testimony to our primal need to gaze into the psychological mirror of the human body. I photograph the nude the way I practice scales on the guitar. It is an ongoing and endless pursuit.” –Ralph Gibson
The abstraction of the model's back in Infanta (Tattoo), whose identity is obscured by the shadows engulfing her head, creates a tension between appreciation and objectification of the female body. However, Gibson's treatment of the woman also has a soft touch, while the tattoo on her back, the symbol for the Leo Zodiac, complements her sensuous curves.
About the Artist
Intimate, erotic, and eerie, Ralph Gibson is able to transform even an empty corner of a room into a poetic masterpiece with his signature Leica lens and a stark, meditative eye. Gibson began training for his long photographic career in the Navy and continued to hone his craft at the San Francisco Art Institute. He worked as an assistant to Dorothea Lange and Robert Frank, who inspired the 1970 publication of Gibson's first book, The Somnambulist.
His photographs, then and now, exude tension and barely contained energy. By turns sexual, disquieting, and surreal, each image is a narrative unto itself. His image Nude With Feather is one of the most coveted nude image on the art market today. The recipient of countless awards, including a fellowship from the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1985 and two honorary doctorates, Gibson continues to inspire younger photographers with international exhibitions and more than 40 publications.
Artspace Edition
Description
Black and white photograph made with archival pigments on fine art rag paper with matte finishAuthentication
Includes a Certificate of Authenticity and an artist signed label on verso.Dimensions
This print contains a border as dictated by the artist to allow for framing and the quoted dimensions are for the paper size and not the printed size of the image itself.Shipping
Unframed works ship in 7–10 business days.Framed works ship in 10–14 business days.