The Mother as a Creator

Artist Annie Hsiao-Ching Wang(Taiwanese, born 1972)Taiwanese, born 1972

CultureTaiwanese

Titles

The Mother as a Creator

Date2001–2022, printed 2023

MediumGelatin silver prints

DimensionsImage: 23 1/2 × 15 5/8 in. (59.7 × 39.7 cm)
Frame (Each): 24 5/16 × 16 7/16 × 1 9/16 in. (61.8 × 41.7 × 3.9 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Appleman Foundation, the Anne Levy Charitable Trust, Franci Neely, Julie Brook Alexander, Patricia J. Eifel and James Belli, Jereann Chaney, Nena Marsh, and Meg King Murray

Object number2023.485.A-.L

Non exposé

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

Description

When Annie Hsiao-Ching Wang discovered she was pregnant while pursuing her PhD in art, she briefly questioned whether she could balance motherhood and a career. On the day before she was due to give birth, she photographed herself—a pledge to remain on her artistic path while retaining her sense of self, apart from her role as mother. The Mother as a Creator documents this promise. Comprising photographs taken at memorable moments in her life or her son’s, each photograph features the echo of past images in the background. In one, Hsiao-Ching Wang stands triumphantly in her PhD robes, having attained her degree despite the responsibilities of motherhood.

ProvenanceThe artist; [Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago]; purchased by MFAH, 2023.
Published References Hsiao-Ching Wang, Annie, "Reframing Motherhood," (Moom books, Taipei): 2020. Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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