Fish Creature Gaping at the Wooden Man in the Moon
Clarence John Laughlin
American, 1905–1985

Details
Title
Fish Creature Gaping at the Wooden Man in the Moon
Artist/Maker
Clarence John Laughlin (American, 1905–1985)
Date
1953
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Fish Creature cut-out: 6 5/8 × 2 inches; Moon cut-out: 10 1/2 × 4 1/8 inches
Credit
Bequest of the artist
Accession #
1985.114
On View
Currently not on view
Isolated from his contemporaries in California, Chicago, and New York, Clarence John Laughlin developed an unusual and highly experimental approach to making photographs in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. Laughlin believed that the photographer’s prerogative was not to simply document the world but to use photography as a creative tool to make poetic and conceptual statements about his or her subjects. Subsequently, he often used techniques including double exposure and collage, such as in this work, which transforms a concrete image of weathered wood into a fantastical narrative.
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