Beauty
Artist
Judy Natal
(American, b. 1953)
CultureAmerican
Date2002
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 10 9/16 × 8 1/4 in. (26.8 × 21 cm)
Overall, Paper: 13 7/8 × 10 7/8 in. (35.2 × 27.6 cm)
Overall, Paper: 13 7/8 × 10 7/8 in. (35.2 × 27.6 cm)
InscribedVerso: "Earth Words, 2002, Beauty" and signature
Credit LineGift of Joyce F. and Robert B. Menschel
Object number2007.12.73
Not on view
Label TextJudy Natal
American, b. 1953
Beauty, 2002
Gelatin silver print (photograph)
During an artist’s residency in Joshua Tree National Park, Judy Natal became fascinated by the appearance of language in the landscape: petroglyphs, graffiti, and a series of philosophical poems inscribed on boulders by a homesteader in 1927. To investigate the relationship between words and the land, she collected letters from defunct urban signage and situated them among the park’s natural forms. Here, the word BEAUTY acts like a caption, telling us how to see the natural world. By making the word part of the image, however, Natal also asks if there’s anything “natural” about the beliefs we project onto the land.
Gift of Joyce F. and Robert B. Menschel 2007.12.73
ProvenanceCollection of Robert B. and Joyce F. Menschel, New York; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, Gift of Joyce F. and Robert B. Menschel, 2007
Exhibition History"New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016.
