Will Michels
The Flagellation – Blurred

The Flagellation – Blurred

© Will Michels

The Flagellation – Blurred
The Flagellation – Blurred
ArtistAmerican, born 1968
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • The Flagellation – Blurred
  • from the series Studies
Date2014, printed 2015
MediumSalted paper print with artist's frame
DimensionsImage: 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
Sheet: 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
Frame: 16 1/8 × 18 3/16 × 2 1/8 in. (41 × 46.2 × 5.4 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by various donors
Object number2016.148
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
DescriptionIn his early series Portraits and Studies, Will Michels explored a tradition of the sculpted form that dates back to antiquity, particularly the Roman portrait bust, in effect transforming his living subjects into sculpture by way of the camera’s freezing gaze. Recently, however, he has channeled the myth of Pygmalion. In this photograph, Michels references Michelangelo’s four unfinished slaves, at the Accademia in Florence, struggling to free themselves from the block of marble. The sculptural forms come to life, animated by the medium of photography.
ProvenanceThe artist, Houston; purchased by MFAH, 2016.
Exhibition HistoryInfinite Pause: Photography and Time, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, June 18 - September 11, 2016
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in pencil, verso of print top left, sideways: BERGGER // 24 m LIGHT BOX/ 50 ML SALT/ 8 DROPS TWEEN/ 20 DROPS Pot. DI.

Stamped in red ink, verso of print, top left: THIS PHOTOGRAPH MAY // NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT // THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF // THE PHOTOGRAPHER.

Signed in pencil, verso of print, bottom right: Will Michels 2014/2015

Inscribed in pencil, verso of print, bottom right: THE FLAGELLATION – BLURRED // SALTED PAPER PHOTOGRAPH. [underlined]

Stamped in red ink, verso of print bottom right: THIS PHOTOGRAPH MAY //NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT // THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF // THE PHOTOGRAPHER.

Applied label, verso of frame, bottom left: [image from Star Trek] // WILL MICHELS // P.O. Box 542041 [dot] Houston, TX 77254

Applied wood, verso of frame, bottom left: [a wooden cutout in the shape of a butterfly]

Inscribed in pencil, verso of frame, bottom left: Will [with arrow pointing to school photo next to it]

Applied school photo, verso of frame, bottom left: [1 5/8 x 1 1/8 in (4.1 x 3 cm), school picture of Will Michels as a child, held on with two pieces of silver tape on the top left and bottom right corners]

Inscribed in pencil, verso of frame, left edge: THIS WAS MADE BY WILL [starts bottom left and goes around edge of artist’s handprint up to the top left, text grows small to large bottom to top]

Graphite, verso of frame, left center: [artist’s handprint in graphite, graphite is not set so it will smudge if touched directly]

Inscribed in pencil, verso of frame backing board, bottom right: Will Michels [signed] 2014/2015 // THE FLAGELLATION – BLURRED // SALTED PAPER PHOTOGRAPH

Inscribed in pencil, verso of frame, bottom right: OTHER SIDE [upside down from other text, underlined with arrow pointing to the signature and title above]

Applied verso of frame, top right: [6.5 x 6 3/8 in (16.5 x 16.3cm) cyanotype photograph, adhered with linen tape on the corners]

Inscribed in pencil, verso of frame, top right: MOTION STUDY NO. 23 – 2011 – CYANOTYPE [arrow pointing to cyanotype to the left of text]


Signed in pencil, verso of frame backing board, bottom right: Will Michels 2014/2015 // THE FLAGELLATION – BLURRED // SALTED PAPER PHOTOGRAPH

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

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