Martha Graham, "American Document" (Starburst)

Images(2)

Martha Graham, "American Document" (Starburst)

Artist Barbara Morgan American, 1900–1992

Date1938, printed later

MediumGelatin-silver print

Dimensionsheight: 13 3/8 in. (34 cm)
width: 17 13/16 in. (45.2 cm)
frame: 21 1/2 × 25 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (54.6 × 63.8 × 3.8 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineGift of Richard and Lois Zakia

Object number2002.20.6

On View

Not on view

Label TextMorgan is well known for her creative contributions to both the dance and visual art worlds. She once said, “The most difficult, but also the most creative and exciting, part of dance photography is not so much the eventual picture as the groping and shaping toward a conception of what the picture ought to be.“

Unlike photographing a fixed subject matter, such as a still life, photographing a moving dancer requires patience and constant attention to capture the perfect image once the dancer creates it. Through her work, Morgan matches the dancers in their intentionality and technique.

[L. Dougherty, 2023]ProvenanceCreated New York, 1938, printed later; collection of the artist. Richard and Lois Zakia, Apex, NC; given to NCMA, 2002.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “Human/Nature,” October 15, 2016–February 26, 2017.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection Reimagined," April 17, 2023-November 6, 2023. Object Rights Statement

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