Lot 41
Rodney Graham (1949-)
Lot 41 Details
Rodney Graham (1949-), Canadian
UNTITLED DIPTYCH (OAK TREES RED BLUFF), 1993-1994
Two gelatin silver prints; each print signed, dated '95 (print date) and numbered 21/24 on the reverse. Published by the Art Gallery of York University, Toronto.
Each image 10.4 ins x 13.4 ins; 26.3 cms x 34 cms
Estimate $4,000-$6,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
Private Collection, Massachusetts
Note:
A theme that would see many incarnations in Rodney Graham’s decades-long exploration into “what is” versus what appears to be is reflected in his series of inverted trees. He was inspired both by his interest in camera obscura, a historical photographic process in which projections of a subject are inverted and reversed and by Robert Smithson’s "Upside Down Trees" series. In 1969, Smithson photographed trees that he uprooted then buried upside down in order to explore the concepts of alteration and displacement. These early influences resulted in Graham's iconic photographic series of oak trees taken in various locations around the world, including Belgium, Great Britain and North America. "Untitled (Oak Trees, Red Bluff)," 1993-94, are two of the most recognized images from this series. In an interview with Grant Arnold in 2004, Graham said of his inverted trees, “...they reference something that’s commonplace, something that humans accomplish with our own eyes: all images arrive the wrong way up when light hits our retinas; our brains constantly correct our ‘warped’ perceptions.”