The 100 Day Project #6
After Anonymous (Clio, the muse of history)
Rome, Italy, 2014
The 100 Day Project, Day 6
Movement is a large part of my artistic practice. With the shutter held open for long periods of time, I move and hold the camera, never knowing exactly what the composition will look like. It's much like developing a print in the darkroom — the mystery of what will appear in the frame has kept me in love with photography as a medium for over 30 years.
This is Clio, the muse of history. I made this photograph while earning my master's in art history at the University of Arizona. I was on during an extended honeymoon that took my husband and I across Europe by train. In Rome, we spent a full day slowly moving through the Vatican Museums — a truly unparalleled collection — and I found myself enamored with Clio. How many centuries had she been holding up her scroll of history to visitors?
The movement in this photograph captures several layers of metaphor and irony. The iconic image of a woman cast in the role of muse — one dedicated to holding history within her — sits in direct tension with the way history, recorded largely by men, has so consistently erased women's stories. For centuries women have been denied access to history, to books, to learning, to art, to politics, to money.
That erasure is not only a matter of the past. Around the world, and especially here in the United States, we are witnessing a fierce and coordinated pushback against the gains women have made in their quest to be acknowledged as equal human beings. I hold Clio in my thoughts often these days, calling on her to bring her wisdom — to help myself and others capture and share the stories of women living yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
This image is part of my project Co-Authored, a collection of abstract photographs born from my discomfort with artistic appropriation — a practice made famous by artists like Andy Warhol. I embarked on pilgrimages to photograph artworks and visit some of the most inspiring museums around the world. Because museums are largely full of art made by men, most of the artworks I photographed were from male artists. The result is a mysterious and alluring collection of abstract photographs that are playful and fun, yet sophisticated and elegant. Out of respect for the artists whose work inspired my own, the project is titled to ensure we share credit for the photographs I made.
In a feminist disruption, I titled every artwork in Co-Authored after the partner, spouse, or studio manager of the artist whose work I photographed. It is my way of giving voice to the unrecognized support systems that so often make a male artist's career possible — and of asking, as I always do when I walk through a museum: whose story isn't being told here?
About the 100 Day Project: A global creative challenge where thousands of artists share a piece of their practice every single day for 100 days. I'm joining creatives around the world, and I'm excited to bring you along. Each day I'll be sharing one of my photos — some recent, some old, and some from my current project — along with the story behind it: where I was, who I was with, and why I love it.