The Staircase as Masks
Photography

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The Staircase as Masks
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Clarence John Laughlin
American, 1905–1985
American, 1905–1985
Date
1948, printed 1951
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Accession #
2016.587
Dimensions
Please contact the Museum for more information.
Location
Currently Not on View
Description
To create The Staircase as Masks, Laughlin used a darkroom technique known as “combination printing,” in which he exposed a single sheet of photographic paper twice with the same negative, inverting the image on one of the exposures. Through his experimental printing processes, Laughlin transformed an otherwise straight photograph of common architectural elements into an uncannily surreal image. By mirroring and overlapping the curve of the banisters, he formed a series of shapes evocative of a spookily grinning face.