Robert Cumming
Mishap of Little Consequence

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Artist Robert Cumming (American, 1943–2021)American, 1943–2021

CultureAmerican

Titles

Mishap of Little Consequence

Date1973

PlaceCalifornia, United States

MediumGelatin silver prints

DimensionsImage (.A): 7 5/8 × 9 5/8 in. (19.4 × 24.4 cm)
Sheet (.A): 7 15/16 × 9 7/8 in. (20.2 × 25.1 cm)
Image (.B): 7 5/8 × 9 5/8 in. (19.4 × 24.4 cm)
Sheet (.B): 7 15/16 × 9 7/8 in. (20.2 × 25.1 cm)
Mount: 19 15/16 × 29 3/4 in. (50.6 × 75.6 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Louisa Stude Sarofim

Object number83.316.A,.B

Not on view

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Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionFascinated by the discarded Hollywood “continuity shots” that he found in Los Angeles flea markets and movie memorabilia stores (images that recorded the precise look of elaborate film sets but often revealed their paper-thin illusions as well), Robert Cumming embarked in the early 1970s on a series of photographs that played on the same theme. With an eight-by-ten camera like the ones Ansel Adams and Edward Weston focused on the majesty of nature, Cumming photographed his own constructions of copper wire and contact paper, tennis balls and household items. His intentionally dumb jokes, however, tackled the serious central theme of Conceptual art: the nature of representation and the purpose of art. With a light touch and playful inventiveness, he challenged received notions of photographic truthfulness, depicting subjects that were often far less than they first appeared.
Provenance Research Ongoing Exhibition HistoryExhibited:"The Alternative Image III: Visual Paradox", John Michael Kohler Arts Center, New York, NY6 December 1987 - 14 February 1988 (LN:87.14)

Loaned to "Robert Cumming L'oeuvre photographique 1969-1980/Retrospective," at Fonds Regional D'Art Contemporain, Limoges, France, from Aug. 4 to Oct. 29, 1994 (LN:94.21)

Loaned to "Robert Cumming: Photographic Works, 1969-1980," at The Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh, Jan. 26 - Mar. 9, 1995 (LN:95.21)

Exhibited: "A Love Affair with Pictures: 25 Years of Collecting Photographs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," MFAH, Lower Jones and Masterson Galleries, October 14 - December 30, 2001.

“History of Photography I: Selections from the Museum's Collection,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 1, 2014–February 22, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

bottom left below image A. in pencil " MISHAP OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE "
verso of mount right edge in pencil " J20 "
top left in pencil artist's name, title, several dimensions

bottom right below image B.in pencil " Cumming 1973 "

verso of mount a paper sticker inscribed in ink " BMA / 72505 "

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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