Photographed by Scott Wolff. Captured from a digital file. Color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Untitled

Artist Jerry Spagnoli (American)

CultureAmerican

DateDecember 23, 2002

MediumDaguerreotype

DimensionsOverall: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. (16.5 x 21.6 cm)
Overall, Support: 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)

InscribedBack of the plate is inscribed with the artist's signature and the date.

Credit LineMuseum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank

Object number2003.4

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a whole plate daguerreotype. This daguerreotype was made at a site that Spagnoli has visited annually at Christmas time for the last four years: the New York Stock exchange building on Wall Street. Buildings are on the left and right, with a large star-topped Christmas tree to the right of the center. Snow drifts across the image. Very few cars and people are visible on the street.

Label TextJerry Spagnoli American (b. 1956) Untitled (The New York Stock Exchange from the series The Last Great Daguerreian Survey of the Twentieth Century), December 23, 2002 Whole plate daguerreotype Purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 2003.4 This daguerreotype was made at a site that Jerry Spagnoli has visited annually at Christmas time for the last four years. It is not simply a document of that location. He finds the ancient cultural activity of the Christmas tree with its symbolic meanings to be incongruous with the capitalist trappings of Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange building. The image comes from his series entitled The Last Great Daguerreian Survey of the Twentieth Century. The title is a play on the topographical surveys of the United States that were conducted in the 19th century by the United States government. This revered building, a cultural artifact of the 20th century, is a potent symbol of the financial might of America. Edited By: CW Edited Date: 2007 Approved By: ERL Approval Date: 2007ProvenanceThe artist, December 2002-December 2003; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank, 2003. Exhibition History"Silver Images: The Photography Collection at 25," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., November 5, 2003 - August 2004. "Photography Speaks," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, September 4, 2004 - January 2, 2005. "The World of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008