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
Image: 10 7/8 × 13 1/2 inches
Mounted: 14 × 17 inches
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.
Credit
Gift of Joshua Mann Pailet in honor of his mother, Charlotte Mann Pailet; her family members Josef, Jiri and Alma Beran Mann, all of whom perished in the Holocaust; and Sir Nicholas Winton, the British hero who orchestrated Charlotte’s escape with 669 Czechoslovakian children in 1939 Abbreviated version: Gift of Joshua Mann Pailet in honor of his mother, Charlotte Mann Pailet, her family, and Sir Nicholas WintonCheck This Out
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