The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Stems

Stems

1994
(American, b. 1934)
America, 20th century
gelatin silver print
Image: 37.7 x 37.2 cm (14 13/16 x 14 5/8 in.); Paper: 50.5 x 40.7 cm (19 7/8 x 16 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 55.9 cm (22 x 22 in.)
Gift of Friends of Photography 1999.257
© Lee Friedlander
Location: not on view

Description

For more than forty years, Lee Friedlander has created "social landscapes," images of jazz musicians, monuments, city streets, suburban backyards, and factory workers. Yet his portraits of family and friends, nudes, and still lifes demonstrate his versatility. This photograph, depicting the stems of cut flowers in a reflective glass bowl, comes from a series that Friedlander made while recovering from knee surgery. Through his keen powers of observation and conceptualization, he transformed the stems into a striking abstract composition of bold geometric forms, bathed in warm, atmospheric light. Aspects of the photographer's distinctive style-a close-up viewpoint, foreshortening, compressed space, and layering-appear in this work.
  • Gifts from the CMA Friends of Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 7, 2002-April 23, 2003).
    Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; December 7, 2002 - April 23, 2003. "Gifts from the CMA Friends of Photography."
  • {{cite web|title=Stems|url=false|author=Lee Friedlander|year=1994|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.257