the picture is still • video | Cleveland Museum of Art

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The picture is still • video

2001

Ann Hamilton

(American, b. 1956)

Culture

America

Medium

Video, black and white, sound, 12:00 (loop); 12 minutes

Measurements

12 minutes

Credit Line

Gift of Dave and Nancy Gill 2025.190

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

While best known for large-scale ephemeral installations, Ann Hamilton has used photography and video throughout her four-decade career.

Description

This video work, the picture is still • video, represents the first time that Ann Hamilton sought to animate a still photograph. Holding a single-chip surveillance camera in one hand, Hamilton slowly moved it over the surface of a black-and-white photograph of her son, “almost caressing the image, as if touching or probing its flat surface to yield something more bodily.” An important aspect of this work is the use of motion, or gesture or touch, to “see” and interpret a still image.