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Artist
John Coplans (Primary)
Title

Interlocking Fingers, No. 17

Date
2000
Century
21st century
Medium & Support
Gelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 50 1/2 x 42 in. , Image: 47 x 38 1/2 in.
Style
Art Photography
Object Type
Photographs
Credit Line
2013 Collectors' Circle purchase
Accession Number
2013.34.01.91
Copyright
In Copyright
© The John Coplans Trust
Description

Close up of hands with fingers interlaced

Label History

Monumental in scale and rich in detail, the content of Coplans's photographs of his body–almost sculptural in quality–are mediations on the taboo subject of aging. He began photographing himself at age 60 and continued until his death. By focusing on a single part of the body without directly identifying the work as a self-portrait, the form becomes anonymous, an object through which to consider aesthetic qualities as well as one's own relationship to mortality. In this photograph taken toward the end of his life, the lacework of wrinkles and deep shadows on the artist's interwoven hands document 80 years of use as a painter, photographer, museum director, and human.

Exhibition Title: Asheville Art Museum: An Introduction to the Collection
Label Date: 2021
Type: Object Entry
Written by: Hilary Schroeder

Keywords

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