Name/Title
Untitled #35, from the series Hardly More Than EverEntry/Object ID
2022.21Description
Fruits scattered across a table with stains and watermarks on surface.Context
Laura Letinsky’s series "Hardly More Than Ever" (1997–2004)—the subject of an important 2004 exhibition at the Renaissance Society—continues the artist’s ongoing investigation into the relationship between photography and painting, which began with her earlier series Venus Inferred. In the latter, Letinsky photographed couples in intimate domestic spaces—bedrooms, hotel rooms, bathrooms—with a candid style that foreshadowed the rise of social media. In "Hardly More Than Ever," Letinksy meticulously composes scenes in the manner of a still life or vanitas painting, but rather than depicting the excesses of banquets and opulence of human vanity, Letinsky shows the aftermath of human consumption in sparce domestic settings—scattered bits of half-eaten food, rotting flowers, soiled napkins, and dishes in need of washing. As Letinsky described these works: “I’m interested in the home, the way that the domestic space is constructed or made-up. I manipulate photographic space to comment on the made-up-ness of home. The home is supposed to be a deliberate expression of who you are, but it always reflects decisions you make unconsciously as well as consciously: the color of soap you choose, a plate from a previous marriage, a glass from Ikea.”
Untitled #35 has been compared by scholar Hanneke Grootnbor to a trompe-l'œil due to the stark shadows and Letinsky’s tight cropping. The soda can tab in the bottom right corner of the composition appears both as part of the scene and seemingly superimposed on the surface image while the shadows make all the objects feel as if they might slide off of the table towards the viewer. This would be the first work by Letinsky’s to enter DPAM’s collection, but would nicely compliment the strong photography holdings of works by Chicago-based women photographers, particularly the carefully constructed photograph by Melanie Schiff called Self Portrait After John’s.Acquisition
Accession
2022.21-22Source or Donor
Barbara RubenAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Barbara and Thomas RubenDimensions
Dimension Description
FrameHeight
31 inWidth
41 in