Skull
Artist
Adam Fuss
(British, born 1961)
CultureBritish
Date2005
MediumDaguerreotype in plexiglass box
DimensionsOverall, Plate: 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm)
Case and frame: 17 5/8 × 14 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (44.8 × 37.5 × 3.8 cm)
Case and frame: 17 5/8 × 14 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (44.8 × 37.5 × 3.8 cm)
InscribedVerso- unidentified hand in ink: “6/20-2,” “buffed,” “polished,” and illegible annotations.
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2018.16
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a daguerreotype that depicts a human skull.Label TextAdam Fuss British, born 1961 Untitled, 1986 Gelatin silver print (photograph) right Skull, 2005 Daguerreotype in plexiglass box An open-mouthed mask in the hands of a stony goddess confronts the viewer as part of a shadowy and mystical scene. Adam Fuss made this image using a pinhole camera, a simple device that exposes film or photosensitive paper through a tiny hole. Created at the Louvre at night, when the museum was closed to the public, the picture portrays a sculpture as if it has come to life or, as Fuss says, as if it “could breathe.” Like much of Fuss’s work, these photographs use historical and often simplified photographic techniques to create otherworldly effects. Gift of Howard Read 2018.20 Museum purchase 2018.16 ProvenanceArtist; private collection; sale via Sotheby's in April 2018; purchased by the Chrysler Museum of Art.Exhibition History"5 Years of Photography: Building the Chrysler Collection," Photography & Focus Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 26 - November 10, 2019.
